Opinions Expressed in "Rants," while informed by Catholic doctrine, are merely the opinions of the author.
Murdering a Murderer
This last week saw the murder of Dr. George Tiller, one of the few doctors in the U.S. who performs late-term abortions. He was shot while serving as an usher in his church.
So the moral questions arise - was such a murder justified, perhaps on the grounds of defence of the innocent?
There are few that would argue for the legitimacy of late-term abortions. After 12 weeks, most in the medical and scientific community agree that a fetus is a human; all their organs are formed and all that is left for the fetus to do is grow. The further into the term of pregnancy, the more evident it is that such a fetus feels real pain, particularly while it is being aborted. Even liberals like Barack Obama condemn late-term abortions (most of the time). Where ambiguity may exist earlier in the term of pregnancy, for a late-term abortion, that ambiguity evaporates. Late-term abortion is infanticide.
So arises the question - has the man who executed Dr. Tiller actually saved countless innocent lives by killing Tiller? The man who did it certainly thought so.
That man's name was Scott Roeder, who actually has a criminal history of violence. And this shows an interesting reality - some folks will often use loftier, righteous moral and even theological motivations to justify what are IN FACT base, animal instincts for power through violence. History is full of examples.
And that helps to demonstrate the real point here - the point behind the Pro-life movements universal condemnation of this, and of all acts of violence against abortion practicioners.
THE POINT is not the fact that innocent lives may now be saved because Dr. Tiller was killed. THE POINT is the question: who has the right to kill, whether the killed be an abortion practicioner, or a serial killer, or an unborn child? The answer is NO ONE, because ALL life is sacred, even that of the guilty. Jesus died for the guilty.
What then of justified killing in the case of self-defence? What then of a just war? Are these still defensible? Not sure. All I know is this:
"Vengance is MINE, I will repay, says the Lord." (Rom 12:19).
Click HERE for a report on this story, and Pro-life's condemnation of the assassination.