The Wichita Divide: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller, the Battle over Abortion, and the New American Civil War

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The Wichita Divide: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller and the Battle over Abortion (eBook - First Edition) Pub. Date: 4/12/2011 Publisher: St. Martin's Press
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The Wichita Divide: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller, the Battle over Abortion, and the New American Civil War (First Edition) Pub. Date: 4/12/2011 Publisher: St. Martin's Press

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Overview

The New York Times bestselling author offers an in-depth account of the life and death of a controversial doctor, the debate that sparked his assassination, and the place where two Americas collide

On May 31, 2009, Scott Roeder walked into a Wichita church, drew a pistol, and shot Dr. George Tiller at point blank range. Tiller, who was the most public practitioner of late-term abortions in America, had been a lightning rod for controversy, regularly referred to in the conservative media as “Tiller, the Baby Killer.”

Tiller’s death was a pivotal, public murder in a war that has been raging for decades. It’s a war of violently opposing ideologies, encompassing abortion, but also questions of privacy, sexuality, and religion. It’s being fought in our nation’s courtrooms, school and churches, on television sets, at our dinner tables, and in our bedrooms. And more and more, the key battlegrounds are in Kansas, once home to Brown vs. Board of Education and some of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War.

This is a gripping look at a cold-blooded terrorist action, two men representing opposite ideological extremes, and the region where those violent forces clash.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this stirring account of the 2009 murder of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, true crime veteran Singular (Unholy Messenger) presents a portrait not only of a man and his killer but of the national debate about abortion so rabid it led to murder. On Sunday, May 31, 2009, Scott Roeder walked into the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kans., and shot Tiller in the head. Tiller had been performing abortions—and most controversially, late-term abortions—at his women's health clinic since the 1970s, despite being the main target of many of the nation's most vitriolic pro-life groups. Roeder first became attracted to antitax fringe groups and drifted toward anti-abortion groups such as Operation Rescue, though after Tiller's murder none would outright condone his act. Though he claimed the "necessity defense"—that killing Tiller was necessary to prevent abortion—at trial, Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder. Singular, a Kansas native who also wrote about Wichita's infamous BTK killer, expertly folds in Tiller's life story and Roeder's steady decline with the blood-soaked history of the abortion debate, from Roe v. Wade to the recently passed health care reform. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Apr.)

Kirkus Reviews

An in-depth examination of the 2009 murder of an abortion doctor in Wichita, Kan.

Singular (When Men Become Gods: Mormon Polygamist Warren Jeffs, His Cult of Fear, and the Women Who Fought Back, 2008, etc.) frequently investigates hate crimes committed by individuals who have become unhinged extremists relying on ersatz religious doctrines. Scott Roeder, the 51-year-old assassin of Dr. George Tiller, fits the type. Tiller was one of the few physicians remaining in the United States willing to perform abortions during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Roeder, relatively stable while younger, a husband and father, became gradually obsessed with the immorality of abortion and focused his obsession on Tiller. Various conservative commentators with national audiences, especially Bill O'Reilly, fed the hatred by regularly referring to the doctor as "Tiller, the baby killer." Devoted to a woman's right to choose, Tiller operated his Wichita clinic despite the fears of his wife, children, friends and employees. Though he had survived gunshot wounds and other injuries in the past, he could not survive Roeder's attack. With detailed reporting, Singular provides ample context about the divisive issue of abortion, and he often uses first-person passages to trace his investigations of violent extremists dating back to the '80s. Though the author now lives in Denver, he grew up in Kansas and thus feels comfortable plumbing the political and culturaldepths unique to that state. Disagreements over the morality and social utility of abortion have raged in cities across the nation, but Wichita served as ground zero during Tiller's lifetime. Roeder showed no remorse after his capture, expressing pride that he hadshut down abortion services in Kansas' largest city.

A disturbing, haunting journey into unrepentant hatred.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780312625054
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 4/12/2011
Edition description: First Edition
Edition number: 1
Pages: 368
Sales rank: 704,552
Product dimensions: 6.50 (w) x 9.40 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Stephen Singular is a New York Times bestselling author and Edgar Award nominee. His book Talked to Death was made into the Oliver Stone film Talk Radio. Singular has appeared on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Court TV, and Anderson Cooper 360.

Prologue 1

On the Fringes 11

Into the Mainstream 87

The Rule of Law 149

Target Identification 179

On the Road 261

The Necessity Defense 295

Wichita Divided 319

Epilogue 345

Acknowledgments 355

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