Dr. George Tiller was volunteering at his Kansas church Sunday when a gunman shot him dead. Republicans in Congress recently made a villain of Tiller when they stalled the confirmation of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

Tiller, who performed late-term abortions, had made campaign contributions to Sebelius.

BBC:

Dr Tiller, one of the few US doctors who performed so-called late-term abortions, had been vilified by anti-abortionists in the US.

His clinic – called Women’s Health Care Services – had often been the site of demonstrations, and he had been shot and wounded by an assailant 16 years ago.

Dr Tiller’s lawyer, Dan Monnat, said he was killed while serving as an usher during a morning church service. His wife was in the choir at the time.

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