Dr. Tiller Memorial at Federal Courthouse in Urbana

On Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m., a memorial was held at the federal courthouse in Urbana to correspond with the funeral of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas and similar memorials that were held across the country. On Memorial Day, Tiller was gunned down at his church by an anti-abortion activist in what many are calling a vicious act of domestic terrorism. In Urbana, a group of approximately 25 people gathered to honor Tiller and take a stand for women’s reproductive rights.

Growing up in Wichita, I remember the summer of 1991 when Operation Rescue kicked off its so-called “Summer of Mercy” by protesting Dr. Tilller’s clinic. Tiller had become a lightning rod for the movement for his providing of late-term abortions. At the church where my now wife (who was then and remains pro-choice) was attending, youth were being recruited to lie down in the road and block traffic along Kellogg Avenue.

Two of my close friends received abortions from Dr. Tiller. After he was killed, one of them wrote, “I love Dr. Tiller. He was an angel, a warrior, a zen-like human human who cared about people―women especially. He performed my abortion when I was 17 and it saved my life. Dr. Tiller saved my life and the lives of countless women by helping them help themselves. Blessings to him and his family and all of us who care about Reproductive Justice.” Lisa is now the mother of two beautiful children and lives in Washington D.C.

Another friend of mine who had an abortion from Dr. Tiller is currently a jazz critic for NPR, has written two books, and is a free spirit who divides her time between Brazil and Colorado.

I still have many friends and family who live in Wichita. My mother recently told me the story of how when she worked at a local jewelry store, Mrs. Tiller used to come in to have her jewelry cleaned. One of my mother’s co-workers refused to wait on Mrs. Tiller. My mom also told me the story of Mary Logan, more than 90 years old, who grew up with my grandfather in a small coal mining community in southeast Kansas and was a high school teacher in the Wichita public schools. She had a young George Tiller as a student and said, “He was one of those kids I wish I had a whole room full of.” Throughout the years, he called to call to check in with her. He was, she said, “just perfect in every way.”  

Others at the memorial in Urbana had their own stories to tell. Ashley Price, who is nine months pregnant, came to show her support. She told me:

“I’m nine months pregnant. In fact I’m due on Monday and I’ve always been pro-choice. I’m pregnant with a girl. I want her to have the same choices I did. She was a chosen pregnancy and the only reason why I haven’t needed an abortion is because I have had adequate access to contraception. I think abortion rights are tied to all reproductive rights. There are forces in this society that want to limit how and where a woman can birth. I’m planning a home birth which is not exactly legal in this state. It’s legal for me to give birth at home, but it’s not legal for a practitioner to be at my birth. But we still do it.”

Kristin Ehrenberger just completed her first year of medical school and complained about the lack of training in abortion procedures. She wore a white coat to the memorial and explained why:

“I came as a medical student because I didn’t want the medical establishment to be unrepresented. There are in fact students, doctors, nurses, and other people who see abortion and similar procedures as legitimate, entirely legal, and, unfortunately, sometimes necessary medical procedures. I want the community to see that, which is why I wore my white coat. I didn’t want us to be invisible.”

I also spoke with Heather Ault, an artist and graduate student, who organized the event. I asked what compelled her to call people together. She said:

“I was contacted by a friend who asked if there were any vigils in town for Dr. Tiller’s death. I didn’t know of any, others didn’t know of any. So I thought, well there’s no reason why I couldn’t just step forward and get something organized. I emailed some folks and that just snowballed. Before I knew it we were having this vigil today. I’m just learning this week about Dr. Tiller’s life. It’s amazing to me how much of a hero he was to so many people within the medical community, within the social justice community. He touched so many women’s lives all around the world. It’s an inspirational story. I think he deserves to be honored. We want to share our prayers and our thoughts with his family. We want to let people know that this is an injustice we need to be aware of and talk about.” 

There was an officer from Homeland Security assigned to the memorial which took place with no incidents.

At least 45 vigils were reported to have been organized in 24 states.

Prosecutors have still not decided whether Tiller’s murderer, Scott Roeder of Kansas City, will be charged with a hate crime or an act of domestic terrorism.