Today's Quotes: The Christianists' Aim

A reader who is a Kansas minister writes to Andrew Sullivan about the horrific murder of Dr. George Tiller, shot dead at his church in Wichita yesterday:

I have come to the conclusion that the Christianists' aim is the simple denial of God’s grace to anyone who may have a broader vision of the love of Christ.

Do they not understand that each day that Dr. Tiller lived was another opportunity for grace to prevail? For some that grace may have meant he saved the life of a woman needing access to a safe abortion, to others perhaps that grace would’ve been his own turning away from his practice. But the point is whenever we presume to be the gatekeepers of God’s love and grace, we ourselves are turning away from God.

Another abortion doctor, Warren Hearn, had this to say in an interview with the Colorado Independent:

We don’t have to invade Iraq to find terrorists. They’re right here killing abortion doctors. Every doctor that does abortions has been under an assassination threat for decades. The anti-abortion movement message is, "Do what we tell you to do or we will kill you," and they do. This is a fascist movement.

Sullivan is blogging extensively on the murder, and publishing numerous moving letters from readers whose poignant stories clearly show why sometimes a late-term abortion is the most merciful choice that can be made, like this story and this one.