Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania Mourns the Loss of
Doctor George Tiller,
Health Care Provider and Champion of Women’s Rights
All of us at Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania are outraged and deeply saddened at the murder of Dr. George Tiller by an abortion protestor on Sunday morning. Our most sincere sympathies go out to Dr. Tiller’s family, to his dedicated and brave staff, and to the thousands of women who have benefited from Dr. Tillers courage, compassion, and unwavering dedication to women’s health care.
Dr. Tiller’s murder is an immense loss for the pro-choice community and will have a grave impact on the quality and availability of comprehensive reproductive health care in the United States. As one of three doctors in the country who offered late-term abortion services to women in life-threatening and often heartbreaking situations, Dr. Tiller spent the majority of his career as a target of unlawful harassment and violence. Dr. Tiller’s clinic was burnt down, he was shot in both arms by an abortion protester, and has been the target of multiple legal battles concerning the services he provided.
None of this, or the many other transgressions against him, deterred his commitment to providing women and their families with abortion care that others were unwilling to offer. Dr. Tiller remained dedicated to providing access to safe, legal care and will be remembered by Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and the pro-choice community as an example of true courage in the face of opposition and as a man who put personal freedom and the health of women and families above all else.
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“Make no mistake, this battle is about self-determination by women of the direction and course of their lives and their family’s lives. Abortion is about women’s hopes and dreams. Abortion is a matter of survival for women.”
– Dr. George Tiller, physician and advocate
