George Tiller

George Tiller

George Richard Tiller, MD (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three clinics nationwide which provided late-term abortions).

A Pro-life group, The Kansas Coalition for Life, kept a daily vigil outside Tiller's facility from May 9, 2004 until May 31, 2009. The group known as Operation Rescue held an event called 'The Summer of Mercy' in July and August of 1991, focusing on Tiller's clinic but also protesting other abortion providers in Wichita, Kansas. Years later a branch which split from the main Operation Rescue group moved from California to Kansas specifically to focus on Tiller. On August 19, 1993, outside of the Wichita clinic, Tiller was shot in both arms by Shelley Shannon, a drifter from Oregon with no known ties to any pro-life group in Kansas. Shannon received an 11-year prison sentence for the crime of attempted murder. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was shot through the eye and killed, by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder, as Tiller served as an usher during the Sunday morning service at his church in Wichita. Roeder was convicted of murder on January 29, 2010.