The Abortion Debate Chasm Widens

"Judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1)

"So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.'" (John 8:7)

That goes both ways. Has the murder of Dr. George Tiller made it even harder for all sides in the abortion debate to have a civil discussion?

Already, some abortion rights advocates blame the tone of some anti-abortion leaders for Tiller's death. But would you place clinic picketers in with those who cross the line from words to vandalism and violence?

Anti-abortion leaders have condemned the murder. But few admit that heated rhetoric and name-calling ("baby killer") might just strike an extremist as a battle cry.

I am a pro-life person who is appalled at the cold-blooded murder of Dr. Tiller, who performed late-term abortions. I do not understand the sympathy for the assailant who set himself up as judge, jury, and executioner for the doctor, who was not breaking any civil laws. To kill someone to protest a law you believe permits killing is a perverse repudiation of that message.

There are many ways to reduce the number of abortions in this country. I tend toward support of groups such as Room at the Inn, which provides a home, support, and counseling for pregnant women and their children. The support goes beyond food and shelter to include life-skills classes, college outreach, and adoption advice. It acknowledges that mothers need protection through the pregnancy and that the obligation to a child doesn't end after birth.

If you believe that life begins at conception and that abortion ends that life, there is no compromise, of course. Anyone with that belief is allowed – obligated, even – to stand up for the unborn.

But respect for life includes every life.

You don't have to make Tiller a martyr to mourn his death. That he was a human being – both sides can agree – should be reason enough.