Clinic closed

by Debra Bendis

Most of us won’t be affected by today’s closing of Women's Health Care Services Inc. Until Dr. George Tiller was murdered, I thought little about the Wichita clinic or, for that matter, about late-term abortions; if pressed I would say that late-term abortion is the place to “draw the line” in abortion legislation.

Now I’m reading the stories of women whom Dr. Tiller aided, of their situations and their decisions to abort their pregnancies. While these stories don’t cancel the need for Christians to wrestle with abortion and possibly to support restrictions through legislation, the stories shake us loose from any moral high ground we thought we had reached in our own decisions—and sensitize or resensitize us to human suffering.

They also persuade me of Dr. Tiller’s moral commitment to these women even when he was under constant threat of death. I honor both his compassion and service, and I honor the suffering of these women, men and their families.

A significant number of the abortions that Tiller was performing were in cases of serious physical distress, either for the mother, the baby or both. Sometimes the pregnant women were suicidal; often they were victims of rape. Doctors from across the country referred patients in these crisis situations to Dr. Tiller or a few other doctors who perform such abortions. And yes, Tiller sometimes counseled against abortion or refused to perform one.

Before these women and their crises move to the Internet archives, and on the day when the Wichita Clinic has closed its doors, it’s worth asking ourselves what women in late-term pregnancy and dire circumstances will do without this doctor. As Tiller’s colleague Dr. Bill Harrison says of these sick and desperate women, "I don't know what happens to them now."