2nd Annual Blog Remembrance for Dr. Tiller
Posted on 5.29.2013 by Lily
This Friday, May 31, 2013 marks the 4th anniversary of Dr. George Tiller's murder. One year ago, we at the Provider Project and the Abortion Gang hosted a collective blog call for remembrance in his honor, and we'd like to make this an annual tradition. Unfortunately, threats against abortion providers are still all too real and we are fighting an ongoing battle against abortion restrictions across the United States. This year has seen a surge particularly in laws banning abortion after certain points in pregnancy, from a 12-week ban in Arkansas to the recent proposal to ban abortion nationwide after 20 weeks. Dr. Tiller was widely known for his 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion care, and it was ultimately his unwavering commitment to providing these services that was the reason for his assassination four years ago.
In light of that, we'd like for posts this year to address the question of those abortions performed in the 2nd and 3rd trimester that are most threatened legally right now. Your post could use some of the following questions as jumping-off points:
Why are there so few 2nd and 3rd trimester abortion providers in this country? How can we improve the situation so that more doctors provide this care?
Why is it so important that abortion remain legal past 20 weeks?
How would a nationwide 20-week ban affect the country, or your community? How might it affect your personal reproductive health decisions?
In your post, please link back to this blog post so that folks can come here and find links to other reflections on Dr. Tiller.
The Abortion Gang and The Provider Project will post links to pieces written answering this question, starting Friday, May 31through the following Friday, June 7. Please feel free to forward this call for posts to anyone who you think would be interested in honoring Dr. Tiller’s legacy. Send the links to your posts to info@iamdrtiller.com and lily@theproviderproject.org, tweet them to @AbortionGang and @Provider Project, or leave them in the comments.