Abortion & Murder

You've probably seen the story about the murder of George Tiller, the doctor who was known for performing late-term abortions. Here are some responses.

Robert George of Princeton:

Whoever murdered George Tiller has done a gravely wicked thing. The evil of this action is in no way diminished by the blood George Tiller had on his own hands. No private individual had the right to execute judgment against him. We are a nation of laws. Lawless violence breeds only more lawless violence. Rightly or wrongly, George Tilller was acquitted by a jury of his peers. "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." For the sake of justice and right, the perpetrator of this evil deed must be prosecuted, convicted, and punished. By word and deed, let us teach that violence against abortionists is not the answer to the violence of abortion. Every human life is precious. George Tiller's life was precious. We do not teach the wrongness of taking human life by wrongfully taking a human life. Let our "weapons" in the fight to defend the lives of abortion's tiny victims, be chaste weapons of the spirit.

This murder immediately raised the question of whether this was an inevitable for pro-lifers, who often say that abortion is murder (thus, the argument goes, anti-abortionists will resort to murder to stop murder). Both Rod Dreher and Al Mohler both cite radical abolitionist John Brown of the years just before the Civil War to say that it is both unwise and wrong.

Mohler:

The pro-life movement in America must not wage war against abortion by following the example of John Brown. [...] We must confront this great evil of abortion from a higher plane, and know that the battle is ultimately in God's hands.

Murder is murder. The law rightly affirms that the killing of Dr. George Tiller is murder. In this we must agree. We cannot rest until the law also recognizes the killing of the unborn as murder. The killing of Dr. George Tiller makes that challenge all the more difficult.

Alan Jacobs counters William Saletan, who said that the only consistent anti-abortionist would do what Tiller's murderer did:

A question for Mr. Saletan: Was Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated nonviolent resistance, less committed to civil rights for African-Americans than Malcolm X, who was willing to achieve his goals “by any means necessary”?