Abortion Center of Kansas Abortion Practitioner George Tiller Vandalized

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 5, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Abortion Center of Kansas Abortion Practitioner George Tiller Vandalized Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 5
, 2007

Wichita, KS (LifeNews.com) — The abortion center that houses the business of Kansas late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller was vandalized on Tuesday night. Tiller has made national headlines because he is the subject of 19 misdemeanor charges that he did illegal abortions and he could be headed to prison if convicted.

Apparently someone was able to get by the security cameras posted at Tiller’s abortion facility and gain access to the roof of his building.

Once there, the vandals cut a hole in the roof and inserted a garden hose and eventually flooded the abortion center with water.

In addition, the perpetrators tried to seal the gate to the parking lot shut so no one could enter it. Firemen were able to gain access through the gate before the sealant dried.

Pro-life groups typically condemn such illegal or violent actions and one leading pro-life observer told LifeNews.com that someone who opposes abortion may not have been responsible.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told LifeNews.com that someone affiliated with Tiller’s abortion center may have caused the vandalism to try to take the spotlight off of the investigation by Attorney General Paul Morrison into the potentially illegal abortions or to engender public sympathy.

The vandalism could have been done by someone affiliated with Tiller to damage other files at his office that could show more violations.

As the first response to the new charges, attorneys for Tiller have filed a lawsuit claiming the Kansas law is unconstitutional. Tiller’s attorneys argue that the provision of the law that requires two or more doctors to sign off on late-term abortions is invalid.

In their motion Monday, they also seek to dismiss the 19 misdemeanor charges Morrison filed that would have Tiller in jail as long as 19 years if convicted. He could also be fined $2500 per violation and lose his medical license.

Morrison last week filed charges alleging that before performing 19 late-term abortions in 2003, Tiller received a second opinion from abortion practitioner Ann Kristin Neuhaus, who Morrison said had financial ties with Tiller.

A 1998 Kansas law says that before an abortion of a baby 21 weeks or older, two physicians must determine if continuation of a pregnancy will lead to death or "substantial and irreversible" harm to a "major bodily function."

The consulting doctor can have no financial or legal ties to the abortion practitioner.