The Wichita,Kansas-based late-term abortion provider murdered yesterday had lived a life blanketed in security, according to various media reports.

Dr. George Tiller, 67, was a frequent target for militant anti-abortion groups. Aside from constant nonviolent protests outside his clinic, Tiller's clinic was bombed in 1985 and he survived a 1993 shooting, where an anti-abortionist activist shot him in both arms.

As the threats to his life mounted, Tiller fortified his clinic with armed guards [1], drove to work in an armored car, and lived inside a gated community with extra security [2].

But for all his attempts at target hardening, Tiller's life ended in an unexpected place: his church.

Tiller was murdered in the foyer of  the Reformation Lutheran church yesterday by a single shot from a handgun while handing out the church bulletin. The man in custody for his murder, Scott Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kansas, held strong anti-government and anti-abortion views, according to The New York Times [3].

ABC News also reports [4]that "In May 2007, someone posting to the Web site of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue used the name 'Scott Roeder' in response to a scheduled vigil to 'pray for an end to George R. Tiller's late-term abortion business.'"

Reacting to Tiller's murder, Attorney General Eric Holder dispatched federal marshals to protect abortion providers and clinics across the country, according to Fox News [5].

Already Tiller's murder has led to heated polemics from each side of the abortion debate. For a taste, click here [6].

♦ Photo by AnyaLogic/Flickr [7]

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