Arrest made in slaying of Kan. abortion doctor
Controversial physician was gunned down Sunday morning at church

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31029377/

WICHITA, Kansas - An arrest has been made in the slaying of late-term
abortion doctor George Tiller, who was gunned down Sunday morning at his
church in Wichita, Kan., according to an FBI spokesperson.

Tiller, a prominent advocate for abortion rights wounded by a protester more
than a decade ago, was serving as an usher and his wife was in the choir at
the time of the shooting, his attorney said.

Tiller was shot during morning services at Reformation Lutheran Church,
attorney Dan Monnat said. FBI said the suspect was apprehended without
incident. An earlier manhunt was focused on a car registered to a Kansas
City suburb nearly 200 miles away.

National anti-abortion groups had long focused on Tiller, one of the
nation's few providers of late-term abortions. In 1991, the Summer of Mercy
protests organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of anti-abortion
activists to this city for demonstrations marked by civil disobedience and
mass arrests.

Shot in the arms in 1993

Some abortion opponents had resorted to attacks against Tiller and his
Women's Health Care Services clinic long before Sunday's shooting. A
protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in
1985.

The women's clinic run by Tiller is one of three in the nation where
abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy, when the fetus is
considered viable, and has repeatedly been the site of protests for about
two decades. A protester shot Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic
was bombed in 1985.

Monnat said Sunday that Tiller had asked federal prosecutors to step up
investigations of vandalism and other threats against the clinic out of fear
that the incidents were increasing and that Tiller's safety was in jeopardy.

Tiller's attorneys issued a statement on behalf of his wife, four children
and 10 grandchildren.

"Today's event is an unspeakable tragedy for all of us and for George's
friends and patients. This is particularly heart-wrenching because George
was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace," the statement
said.



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