BANGOR, Maine — Local abortion providers were saddened and put on alert when word spread that a gunman on Sunday killed Dr. George Tiller, one of the only doctors in the country performing late-term abortions.
Staff at Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Heath Center of Bangor, one of the only abortion providers in the area, met to discuss the homicide in Wichita, Kan., when they arrived at work Monday, said Ruth Lockhart, the center’s executive director and one of its founding members.
“We are much more aware, but we already were pretty aware,” she said, adding that the women’s health care facility has high-rated safety measures in place to protect patients and staffers.
The facility, which in addition to abortions provides prenatal care and women’s health care, opened in 1984 on Harlow Street downtown, and last year expanded to a suite of modern offices off Mount Hope Avenue.
The facility has served local women, who sometimes must pass picket lines, for 25 years.
“Even as we grieve for the senseless loss of Dr. Tiller and for the other health care providers who have been murdered because of their commitment to providing reproductive health care, we salute the brave women and men in Maine and across this nation who work tirelessly — often at great personal sacrifice and tremendous personal risk — to ensure that women have access to safe, legal abortion care,” George Hill, Family Planning Association of Maine president and CEO, said in a joint press release.
Lockhart, who met Tiller several times during her three decades in the medical profession, described him as a kind-hearted leader.
“He stood up for what he believed in and was very inspirational to a number of us,” Lockhart said. “Dr. Tiller was certainly a hero and a leader. He had a passion for his work and worked to save women’s lives. He was all about saving women and putting them first.”
The Wadsworth Center put out a joint press release with the Family Planning Association of Maine and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
“The best way we can honor Dr. Tiller’s legacy is to continue the work we do every day supporting Maine women in accessing the full range of reproductive health care,” Nancy Mosher, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England president and CEO, said in the statement. “And that includes access to safe, high-quality abor-tion care.
“We will continue to be there for the women of Maine,” she said.
Tiller’s death is a shocking reminder that a woman’s right to choose must not be taken for granted, Lockhart said.
“Dr. Tiller wasn’t just a name in a headline for the people who work to protect reproductive rights,” she said in the press release. “Dr. Tiller was a hero.”
To honor Tiller’s life, Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center will hold a candlelight vigil 6 p.m. today at Grace United Methodist Church of Bangor at 193 Union St.
“The candlelight vigil is a way to remember Dr. Tiller’s accomplishments and to honor a man who saved thousands of women’s lives,” Jean MacRae, president of the Wadsworth Center’s board of directors, said in a separate statement. “We invite women and men who share our belief that violence of any kind — especially the murder of a man in his church — is abhorrent. We will renew our commitment to caring for the women of Maine and honor the courageous health care providers who are on the frontlines of the struggle for women’s rights and lives.”
990-8190