What to know about George Tiller, a Kansas abortion provider assassinated by anti-abortion extremist

Some consider George Tiller a martyr for the abortion-rights movement.

"Trust Women" was the motto of the late Wichita physician and abortion provider, who kept performing late-term abortions even after one anti-abortion extremist fire bombed his clinic and another shot him five times.

Abortion opponents also blockaded Tiller's clinic and threatened his life.

But Tiller kept providing abortions until an anti-abortion extremist tracked him down and assassinated him at age 67 in 2009 during a Sunday service at the church he attended.

Tiller's story has received heightened attention since the recent release of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision that indicates a majority of the high court supports striking down the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion in the U.S.

More: Abortion in Kansas could be massively impacted if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Here's why.

Why did George Tiller draw attention?

Tiller was the son of Jack Tiller, a Wichita physician who performed abortions at a time when they were illegal.

George Tiller was serving as a surgeon with the Navy when his parents, sister and brother-in-law were killed in a plane crash in 1970 in Wyoming. He returned to Wichita and took over his father's practice.

After the Roe v. Wade decision made abortion legal in the U.S., George Tiller drew attention from anti-abortion advocates for being one of only a few physicians in the nation who provided late-term abortions.

"Shrewd and resourceful, Dr. Tiller made himself the nation’s pre-eminent abortion practitioner, advertising widely and drawing women to Wichita from all over with his willingness to perform late-term abortions, hundreds each year," the New York Times wrote in an article published after his death.

More: Supreme Court verifies authenticity of leaked opinion in abortion case but says decision not final

How was George Tiller the target of violence?

The clinic was firebombed in 1986, after which Tiller heavily fortified it.

In 1991, a 45-day "Summer of Mercy" campaign organized by the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue drew thousands of protesters to Wichita, where they focused on Tiller's clinic.

Anti-abortion extremist Rachelle "Shelley" Shannon in 1993 shot Tiller five times as he was in his car, wounding him in both arms. She was also convicted in U.S. federal court for 10 attacks at abortion clinics using arson or acid.

Shannon was moved from prison to a halfway house in 2018, then released from federal custody later that year.

More: Tiller shot, killed in Wichita

How did George Tiller die?

Anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder fatally shot Tiller once in the head at point-blank range on May 31, 2009, as Tiller served as an usher during a service at Wichita's Reformation Lutheran Church, where Roeder had come specifically looking for him.

Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder the following year and sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 50 years. The length of time before Roeder becomes eligible for parole was then reduced to 25 years in 2016.

Roeder, now 64, is an inmate at Hutchinson Correctional Facility. He has committed 98 prison disciplinary violations since entering prison to serve his sentence for Tiller's murder, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas abortion provider Tiller was killed by anti-abortion extremist