Two of my favorite authors have contributed their thoughts on the murder of Dr. Tiller at HuffingtonPost.com.
First Frank Schaeffer has How I (and Other "Pro-Life" Leaders Contributed to Dr. Tiller's Murder. The title speaks for itself.
Second, Cristina Miller (who I have also corresponded with) puts her thoughts on the screen, The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing. The thesis of Cristina’s post is: "The murder of Dr. Tiller suggests that violence against abortion providers may be far more linked to the power, or lack thereof, anti-abortion groups have politically than to laws designed to increase penalties against such acts."
Politically, emotionally, and religiously, Frank Schaeffer and I have followed similar courses. Like Mr. Schaeffer, I was once a conservative, religious- Republican. While we may still pray to God and call ourselves "Pro-life", we have completely disavowed ourselves of the Republican Party and look with absolute disdain at a "Religious Right" that favors torture, wars of choice, and a tax system tilted to the wealthiest among us.
My views on abortion have evolved to the point where I appear to be in near total agreement with Cristina Miller, who has wooed me into her fold of people who hope to see a reduction in the number of abortions through "Common Ground." No one wants abortions, and whatever we can do to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and support women who have unintended pregnancies while in dire economic or emotional conditions, we are in favor of. Free, unlimited contraceptives, I’ll gladly pay a few extra dollars in taxes. Teaching real Sex-Ed while doing away with ridiculous abstinence only programs, whatever it takes.
I spend a lot of time in Pensacola. Of Pensacola, Sheryl Crow sings "There is nothing there but a bunch of holy rollers." In Pensacola’s defense, it has: great restaurants, one of the best Public Radio stations in the USA - 88.1 WUWF, and some fantastic fishing. There’s plenty of culture, theatre, and other reasons to visit.
Unfortunately, Sheryl Crow wasn’t totally off base. The "holy rollers’ stand on downtown street corners and shove bible verses down your throat. Even more darkly, Pensacola is where Pro-Life extremists have carried out some of their most violent attacks on doctors who provide abortion.
The extremists are at their most dangerous when they feel they have no legal recourse and their voices are not being heard. Their numbers are tiny, but the consequences of their actions are profound.
But most of those who are opposed to abortion are probably people like me. Of us, Mr. Schaeffer’s states "It's the late term abortions that horrify most people. And for the sake of keeping abortion legal adjustments need to be made." Again my views have changed over time, but the thought of ending a fetus/unborn child’s life when it would be viable if delivered, still sends shudders down my spine.
Thus, I am all in support of making contraception, the "morning after pill" and early abortion options as widely available as possible, so that no woman is forced into a late-term abortion. Even the most progressive European countries, by and large, make "late-term" abortions highly restricted or illegal.
To synthesize and slightly amend Schaeffer and Miller’s posts - I am sorry. I am sorry that I ever supported the GOP and the Religious Right, and I’ll do what I can to keep them out of power, hopefully, for decades to come.
But don’t completely marginalize those of us who call ourselves "Pro-Life". Some of us worked very hard to get Obama and other progressive politicians elected. And we share the goals of Clinton and Obama, who "want abortion, to be safe, legal, and rare."
According to Kristina Miller, the number of abortions in America declined rather precipitously under President Clinton. If the same thing happens under Obama, then like it or not, President Obama and a Democratic Congress will have shown themselves to be more "Pro-Life" than the Republicans were when they held the reins of government.