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2010-03-20

2010-03-16

2010-01-19

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Monday, June 22, 2009 11:24 AM

Tiller tragedy results in a headline we’ve long awaited

By THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHRONICLE (Caney, Kan.)

[Editorials earlier this month] emphasized the tragic nature of a radical activist who murdered a Wichita doctor while the physician was attendiing Sunday church services.

Now, while still under that same burden, we must admit to drawing a deep breath of relief when we read the headline in the Wichita Eagle: “Tiller family says abortion clinic to close permanently.”

The clinic, known for performing third-trimester abortions — only one of three in the entire nation — placed a horrible cloud over the state of Kansas for more than two decades. Anti-abortion protests, two shootings, an attempted burn-out and numerous legal battles have kept the battles hot and created such hate from all sides.

With a grieving family now throwing in the towel, obviously fearing more such killings, it is an opportune time for everyone to gather their good senses and develop more humane practices in the future.

The value of human life, especially those who haven’t even been granted the privilege of being born, must once again become a rallying point for all political parties, religions and medical professionals.

It is unconscionable to accept the premise that beating hearts must be silenced in the name of reproductive rights, or that unborn children be given the right to live only if they are “viable” outside the womb. Those who espouse such nonsense apparently have never felt a mother’s stomach in her fifth or sixth month of pregnancy, because it is a thrilling and emotional experience to feel those little movements of living arms and legs.

Taking another human life has never been an accepted way of life in a civilized society, and certainly not in one claiming to hold Christian and Judeo beliefs.

When Moses came down from the mountain carrying the stone tablets that eventually became known as “The Ten Commandments,” he surely represented the mind of the living God.

“Thou shalt not kill” cannot be compromised.

Even in the face of personal tragedy in Wichita, for which we cannot celebrate, we still draw that deep breath of relief.

Our landmark torture chamber is finally gone.

— The Montgomery County Chronicle (Caney, Kan.)