The New George Tiller and His Foe

An abortionist and a leading pro-life activist vow to continue their battle.

SUMMARY: Dr. LeRoy Carhart is one of only 12 doctors in the United States still willing to do late-term abortions. On a wall of his clean and modern office in Bellevue, Nebraska hangs a picture of abortionist George Tiller, Carhart's mentor who was shot to death in late May while at church. Carhart recalls he was performing an abortion when he heard the news, but he didn't stop to grieve for his best friend because he still had 12 abortions to go. "I finished them all," he says proudly. "I don't want his death to be in vain." However, with Tiller gone and because of Carhart, Bellevue, Nebraska is the new Ground Zero in the nation's abortion debate.

Outside his clinic the scene is different. Paint is peeling from his Abortion & Contraception Clinic of Nebraska and the parking lot is crumbling. Protesters may be there with walkie talkies and signs, and they may stare and shout at you as you enter the building. Visitors must pass through a metal detector to enter Carhart's office.

More than 300 miles away in Wichita in a building that once was an abortion clinic, Troy Newman of Operation Rescue is concentrating on the abortion war. His crusade is to end abortions. On the wall of his office is a bumper sticker that reads, "Guns don't kill people. Abortion clinics kill people." At his facility too, visitors must be buzzed in and there is a monitor providing surveillance at all times. Newman wants to put Carhart out of business and is lobbying lawmakers and other pro-lifers to help in the battle. "This is like a heavyweight fighting championship," Newman says. "You've got to keep your footing until the end of the bell."

Newman would like to meet Carhart, but Carhart doesn't think Newman is worth the time. Newman is appalled at Carhart 's assertion that abortion isn't a four-letter word and is "part of life." No way is killing a baby a way of life, Newman says. Carhart to him personifies a morally repugnant human being who doesn't deserve to be called a doctor. "Doctors heal people. Abortionists do just the opposite." Newman distances himself from Scott Roeder, the man who murdered Tiller. "Shooting someone in the head in a church," he says, "is not a Pro-Life act."

Meanwhile Carhart is making plans to open a clinic in Kansas to replace Tiller's. He believes he is next on the target list. But he doesn't plan to quit what he is doing. "I am an abortionist....That is what I do," he states. He calls Operation Rescue "fundamentalist religious terrorists." However, Operation Rescue, despite a protest at Carhart's clinic in August, is now mostly shifting away from picketing abortion clinics. The group is now scrutinizing doctors' backgrounds and investigating their practices, appealing to authorities if they spot something suspicious.

To read the entire long but interesting article and view some videos, click on this link to CNN.

COMMENT: The good news is that according to a recent Pew Survey more people are agreeing with Newman. The bad news is that the survey found that still almost half of those surveyed believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

I will applaud Mr. Carhart for one thing: being more honest than many people involved in the "pro-choice" movement. He does call himself an abortionist rather than "abortion doctor." He does admit that he kills fetuses and doesn't just remove meaningless tissue. On the other hand, he claims he is not pro-abortion, which is hard to understand.

For the Christian who accepts the entire Bible as the Word of God, the choice is easy. The Bible (Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 1:5) is clear that human life begins at conception. Only God can create life and only He can justifiably end life or give permission to end life (as in self-defense or in wars). May we all work to end the shameful practice of aborting human babies until the time comes when life in this world ends and eternal life becomes the possession of all believers in Jesus as Savior.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

According to records, who was the oldest person to have ever lived (since Bible times)?

It was Jeanne-Louise Calment who was 122 when she died August 4, 1997 in Arles, France.

Source: Racine Journal Times (9/12/09)

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