Pyrrhic Victory

Murdered abortion doctor George Tiller's clinic is being closed as per the Tiller family.

After Dr. Tiller was shot and killed on May 31 as he served as an usher at his Wichita church, abortion rights advocates – including at least one abortion provider in Nebraska – had said they hoped others might step in and keep Dr. Tiller’s clinic open to provide late-term abortions. Abortion rights advocates had said the loss of such a clinic would be devastating to families of women who learned late in pregnancy of catastrophic health issues.

Even some abortion opponents, who had long devoted their efforts to closing down Dr. Tiller’s clinic, said they did not wish to see it happen under these circumstances. Last week, Troy Newman, the leader of Operation Rescue, had said that closing the clinic now would send a worrisome message. “Good God, do not close this abortion clinic for this reason,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “Every kook in the world will get some notion.”

Scott P. Roeder, an outspoken opponent of abortion, is in a Wichita jail, charged with murder in Dr. Tiller’s death.

Immediately after the shooting, the Tiller family had announced that the clinic was closed for the moment, but provided no long term plan until Tuesday.

In the statement, the Tiller family said it wished to assure his previous patients that it would work to keep their medical histories and patient records “as fiercely protected now and in the future as they were during Dr. Tiller’s lifetime.”

The family also said Dr. Tiller’s work would be honored through private charitable work. “We are proud of the service and courage shown by our husband and father and know that women’s health care needs have been met because of his dedication and service,” the statement said. “That is a legacy that will never die.”

Abortion rights advocates said they believed the nearest abortion provider to Wichita may now be about three hours away, near Kansas City.

Which is the real issue. The practical application of abortion is that fewer and fewer doctors are even willing to perform the procedure anymore. If you live three hours away from the nearest clinic that will do the procedure, then for a lot of people it's no longer an option.

So yes, Scott Roeder won. He did what years of protests and lawsuits and threats and attempted murder could not do: close the Tiller Clinic for good and remove abortion as an option for the women of Wichita.

All he had to do was commit murder to stop what he believed was mass murder.

I respect the family's decision to close the clinic. I do not agree with it, as it will almost certainly motivate the next Scott Roeder out there to kill the next George Tiller.

What price victory, indeed.

[UPDATE] Ross Douthat basically argues that if Americans just would be allowed to vote to end all abortions, why then abortion doctors wouldn't get murdered. See how simple the solution is if you're a Winger?

If you have abortions, well...doctors are going to get killed. Just stop making abortions available and they'll be no reason to kill them.

The terrorists have won.

[UPDATE 2] Roeder is now claiming 'victory' for the closing of the clinic, according to CNN.