WICHITA, Kan. — In a nation divided by abortion, Kansas has become perhaps the fiercest battleground — with mass protests, prosecutions, lawsuits and now a killing keeping the issue in the public eye.
Dr. George Tiller, shot to death at his church last Sunday, had been the target of a relentless protest campaign for most of the 36 years he performed abortions at his Wichita clinic. He was a focal point of the abortion conflict, but it transcended him, often becoming the state’s dominant political topic.
Some Kansans are sick of the rancorous debate; for others, it permeates their lives and affects their personal relations.
"Most of my adult life has been in the middle of this fight,” said Peggy Bowman, who lives near Tiller’s church and oversees a fund that helps women pay for abortions.
In part, it’s a power struggle — conservative Republicans, many of them evangelical Christian, battling over abortion and other hot-button social issues with moderates of their own party and with the Democrats.
"When you get down to the heart of the split among Kansas Republicans, it always comes back to abortion,” said University of Kansas political science professor Burdett Loomis. "It may pop out in gun laws, homeschooling, evolution — but it starts and stops with abortion.”
Unlike many states, Kansas often seesaws. For example, the Republican-dominated Legislature passed numerous bills to restrict abortions during the past six years, only to see many vetoed by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now President Barack Obama’s health and human services secretary.
Tiller played a part in intensifying the debate. He became one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions and, unlike many of his peers, embraced a high profile even after he was shot in both arms by an anti-abortion activist in 1993.
"The state used to be a very liberal place,” said Tom Frank, Kansas-born author of the 2004 political best-seller "What’s the Matter With Kansas?”
"Tiller was kind of a relic of that Kansas. … He had that sense of Kansas stubbornness,” Frank said. "The anti-abortion movement personalized the fight, made it about him. … It’s one Kansas colliding with another.”
by the associated press
Dr. George Tiller, shot to death at his church last Sunday, had been the target of a relentless protest campaign for most of the 36 years he performed abortions at his Wichita clinic. He was a focal point of the abortion conflict, but it transcended him, often becoming the state’s dominant political topic.
Some Kansans are sick of the rancorous debate; for others, it permeates their lives and affects their personal relations.
"Most of my adult life has been in the middle of this fight,” said Peggy Bowman, who lives near Tiller’s church and oversees a fund that helps women pay for abortions.
In part, it’s a power struggle — conservative Republicans, many of them evangelical Christian, battling over abortion and other hot-button social issues with moderates of their own party and with the Democrats.
"When you get down to the heart of the split among Kansas Republicans, it always comes back to abortion,” said University of Kansas political science professor Burdett Loomis. "It may pop out in gun laws, homeschooling, evolution — but it starts and stops with abortion.”
Unlike many states, Kansas often seesaws. For example, the Republican-dominated Legislature passed numerous bills to restrict abortions during the past six years, only to see many vetoed by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now President Barack Obama’s health and human services secretary.
Tiller played a part in intensifying the debate. He became one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions and, unlike many of his peers, embraced a high profile even after he was shot in both arms by an anti-abortion activist in 1993.
"The state used to be a very liberal place,” said Tom Frank, Kansas-born author of the 2004 political best-seller "What’s the Matter With Kansas?”
"Tiller was kind of a relic of that Kansas. … He had that sense of Kansas stubbornness,” Frank said. "The anti-abortion movement personalized the fight, made it about him. … It’s one Kansas colliding with another.”
by the associated press
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