Dr. George Tiller

Dr. George Tiller was an abortion care provider in Wichita, Kan., and was murdered in 2009 by anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder after decades of growing harassment and attacks. Tiller’s commitment to abortion healthcare was well-needed, but his murder continues to serve as a reminder of anti-abortion violence toward pregnant people, clinics and providers.

The Long Shadow of Dr. George Tiller: Abortion Providers Under Attack [Part 2 of 4]

PUBLISHED 9/17/2025 by

Julie Burkhart has spent decades on the frontlines of abortion care—from witnessing the “Summer of Mercy” blockades in Wichita to reopening a clinic after her mentor, Dr. George Tiller, was assassinated in 2009. In 2022, before she could open a new clinic in Wyoming, an arsonist burned it down. “It’s definitely more of an unsettling time,” Burkhart told Ms.

The threats extend beyond firebombs. In Pennsylvania this summer, antiabortion activists staged a Red Rose Rescue invasion, disrupting care with fake IDs, “holy water,” and “tickets to heaven.” Several participants had been pardoned by Trump months earlier. Advocates say such incidents show a growing pattern: emboldened extremists traveling across state lines to terrorize clinics.

Roe Is Gone, Abortion Isn’t: Authors Carole Joffe and David Cohen on the Resilience of Reproductive Freedom

PUBLISHED 4/24/2025 by

Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and denied women a right to abortion that had existed for nearly half a century. Fourteen states have since banned the procedure completely, with almost no exceptions. Four more have passed time limitations so onerous that the services are effectively unavailable.

And yet abortions continue to take place across the country, in numbers equal to or greater than before. How has this been possible?

In their new book, After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion, sociologist Carole Joffe and legal scholar David C. Cohen uncover and analyze the courageous and innovative work of medical providers, politicians, lawyers, advocates and private donors, working tirelessly on the ground to secure continued access.

The Legacy of Dr. Warren Hern: Abortion Provider, Women’s Health Advocate and Target of Hate

PUBLISHED 1/17/2025 by | UPDATED 1/21/2025 at 11:44 A.M. PT

After more than 50 years of providing abortions, Dr. Warren Hern of Boulder, Colo. will retire on Jan. 22 of this year. For 50+ years, he has been one of the most high-profile—and controversial—abortion doctors in the United States. This controversy has stemmed from his work as one of only a handful of providers to perform abortions in the late second trimester and the third trimester of pregnancy.

Though only about 1.5 percent of abortions in the U.S. take place after 20 weeks’ gestation, often due to lethal or serious fetal anomalies or health emergencies of pregnant women, those who perform such abortions have been subject to an even higher level of violence and harassment than that of other providers. One of the most traumatic events of Hern’s life was the loss of his close friend and colleague, Dr. George Tiller, also a provider of later abortions, who was assassinated in his church by an antiabortion zealot after being assailed for years as “Tiller the Killer,” including by a Fox News personality. A note he received from one patient no doubt reflects the feelings of many: “I can’t put into words my gratitude for your compassion during the hardest time in my life.”

Pride Month Begins, as Attacks on LGBTQ+ Rights and Women’s Rights Escalate

PUBLISHED 6/2/2023 by

The anti-abortion playbook that uses violence and threats as a crucial tool has been co-opted by other movements—including anti-trans extremists, who are employing many of the same tactics as anti-abortion extremists.

From targeting specific doctors, to bombarding clinics with phone calls and protests, these groups incite violence against clinicians who are providing care that is widely regarded as best practice by all major medical associations.

Dr. George Tiller: A Man Who Trusted Women (Summer 2009)

PUBLISHED 5/30/2023 by

Dr. George Tiller was an abortion provider—one of only three in the U.S. who provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was assassinated by an anti-abortion extremist while serving as an usher at his church in Wichita, Kansas. He was known for mantras like “Trust women,” “I’m a woman-educated physician,” and “Attitude is everything.”

From the Summer 2009 issue of Ms. magazine: “Dr. George Tiller planned to be a dermatologist. He could have led a comfortable, secure life with his wife, Jeanne, their four children and, ultimately, their 10 grandchildren. Instead, Tiller decided to enlist in what shouldn’t be—but is—one of the most perilous jobs in the United States: women’s reproductive healthcare.”

‘Wake Up, America’: Remembering Dr. George Tiller, Assassinated Abortion Practitioner

PUBLISHED 5/1/2022 by

Dr. George Tiller is one of many American abortion doctors to be assassinated by “pro-life” anti-abortion fanatics. Others, such as Emily Lyons, have been maimed for life. 

Dr. Tiller’s crime was not that he killed children—which he did not—but that he brought liberty and health to women. He saved their lives and futures. That’s why every doctor in America who does abortions lives under a death threat.

Bringing Abortion Back to Wichita

PUBLISHED 3/27/2015 by

This March, for Women’s History Month, the Ms. Blog is profiling Wonder Women who have made history—and those who are making history right now. Join us each day as we bring you the stories of iconic and soon-to-be-famous feminist change-makers. This article originally appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of Ms. Click here to get a copy! On May […]

Five Years Later: We’ll Never Forget Dr. George Tiller

PUBLISHED 5/31/2014 by

On May 31, 2009, the world lost one if it’s bravest and most caring physicians, Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, KS. The abortion provider, who was one of the few to perform late abortions, was murdered at his church by the extremist Scott Roeder. Here, we reprint a tribute to the good doctor from the […]

Indecent for Radio? Change the (Clear) Channel!

PUBLISHED 7/24/2013 by

When the South Wind Women’s Center (SWWC) opened its doors in April, it became the first clinic to offer abortions in Wichita since Dr. George Tiller’s  murder four years ago. One of only three abortion clinics in Kansas, it’s also one of only three health clinics in Wichita to offer subsidized birth-control for low-income individuals. As […]