The DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) is devastated and appalled to know that our most skilled and intensely dedicated late-term abortion provider, a beloved partner to DCAF, Dr. George Tiller, was fatally shot in the lobby of his church in Wichita, Kansas on Sunday morning, May 31, 2009.
In the past eight months, DCAF pledged financial assistance to four uniquely challenged women—from Maryland, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, as well as in Omaha, NE, to obtain a third-trimester termination from Dr. Tiller at Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita.
Two of the women were taking medications considered harmful to fetal development. One attempted to self-abort countless times before reaching out—terrified because she came from New Guinea, where abortion is illegal. One spent 10 weeks trying to raise money to afford her abortion before finding DCAF.
One patient was a fifteen-year-old sexual assault survivor who didn’t know she was pregnant until the beginning of the third trimester. One of the women had diabetes and a fetal anomaly.
While heartbroken for the women we assisted, we found solace in knowing Dr. Tiller was willing to provide comprehensive care when there was no other option.
DCAF is eternally indebted to the legacy of boundless courage and compassionate health care offered whole-heartedly by this man who gently and faithfully urged us to trust and support women. He truly exemplified reproductive justice for all by working tirelessly to accommodate struggling families all over the country.
In accordance with our respect for Dr. Tiller’s profound service to women, DCAF is grateful for our partner clinics and heroic providers–true warriors on the front lines, ensuring access to quality abortion care in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
In memory of our angelic and wise doctor and beyond the shadows of opposition, we remain determined in our mission to provide our neighbors with dignified health care regardless of what’s in their wallet.
Elisabeth Sowecke is the lead case manager at the DC Abortion Fund, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.
