I basically agree with Mike, especially in so far as what people do in response. But do think this tragic assassination should at minimum make it clearer to people who is really "pro life." Already there has been reaction from Randall Terry from Operation Rescue on the <i>Huffington Post</i>, as well as other anti-abortion forces (who have come out against Dr. Tiller's murder, at least in words):

Headline: Randall Terry, Operation Rescue founder says He's More Concerned about Obama's Reaction than Tiller's Murder"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/31/randall-terry-operation-r_n_209531.html

In addition, and as to "Terrorism &amp; the State," would also like to point out that only a week before the assassination of Dr. Tiller, another "pro-human rights" journalist, Eliseo Barron, was murdered in Coahuila, Mexico. The Mexican Human Rights Commission has reported that 50 journalists (Left-leaning) have been gunned down since the year 2000.

Today there are several editorial pieces on the <i>Huffington Post</i> that are worth reading. "No Mercy," by Mary Mapes, etc. and one in particular -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannyn-moore/christian-fundamentalist_b_209521.html

"Shannyn Moore: Christian Fundamentalist Terrorism."

While some of us might not agree with all the analysis, one thing we can unite around is the outright and vocal outrage at Dr. Tiller's assassination, and a further assault against women.

Dr. George Tiller was man of amazing courage, and I have long considered him a true hero in the fullest sense of that word.
Now, he is also a martyr who should never be forgotten.

This was a doctor who remained dedicated to women's health and to treating women with absolute dignity and respect even in the face of being singled out for constant, violent harassment from the fanatically crazed, mentally unbalanced, fascistic bullying of religionists for years on end. Even after death threats to himself and to his family this man stood firm. Even after his clinic was bombed he remained dedicated to our needs. Even after he had been shot in both arms he remained undeterred. And now we may say that Dr. Tiller gave his life for his unwavering, fearless and brave commitment and dedication to women's health and women's rights.

Giordano's analysis does seem rather simplistic, yet perhaps there may be some scrap of truth in there, too?

As a result of his assassination, many people may now become aware that Dr. Tiller was one of only a very few doctors in the U.S. who continued to provide late term abortions to women who desperately needed them. People may learn that many more women are now going to be forced to carry dead fetuses to full term because he is no longer there to help them. (A situation that has become more and more common with the steady decline in doctors who've remained willing to perform late term abortions.) They may also learn of how many more women will be forced against their will to give birth to babies who are certain to die anyway or live lives of complete misery due to horrific birth defects (such as those that lack a brain stem or brain, or who have hearts and other organs growing outside of their bodies, to give only two examples). They may hear of how many women will now forfeit their lives giving birth because there are so few doctors who insist on putting women's health first the way Dr. Tiller always did.

The murder of true heroes -- especially martyrdom that is brought by assassination -- often has a way of sending out shock waves that can reverberate and ripple out in numerous directions.

I'm half tempted to compare this to the Charles Sumner/Preston Brooks incident from 1856.

If anybody's not familiar with the history of the years leading up to the Civil War, Sumner was an abolitionist Senator from Massachussetts and Brooks was a pro-slavery Congressman from South Carolina.

After Sumner made a particularly fiery speech denouncing slavery, Brooks ambushed him on the floor of Congress and beat half to death with a heavy wooden cane.

The reaction of the pro-slavery forces in the south was pretty much like the reaction of the anti-choice forces we're seeing now. It ranged from "well I didn't like Sumner but Brooks went to far to Sumner had it coming."

But the reaction on the abolitionist side was even stronger. It solidified them as a movement and pushed them in a decisively militant direction. After Sumner/Brooks, the abolitionists knew that the pro-slavery forces would now resort to any manner of violence to intimidate the abolitionist movement.

I think the anti-choice movement is going to be watching this. If there's enough outrage on the pro-choice side to push Obama and Holder into not only prosecuting the murderer but into breaking up Operation Rescue, I think the anti-choicers will back down. If, on the other hand, there is no outrage and militancy on the pro-choice side, and Obama gets away with only going after the murderer and not his networks (including the local politicians who fed O'Reilly Tiller's information) and lets the media get away with turning this into a "debate on partial birth abortion" then the O'Reillys and Donahues are only going to be more encouraged.

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