05/31/2026
Seventeen years ago today, on May 31, 2009, Dr. George Tiller was murdered while serving as an usher at his church in Wichita.
He was killed by an anti-abortion extremist because he believed every person deserved the ability to make their own decisions about their body, their future, and their family.
Dr. Tiller was more than an abortion provider. He was a courageous physician, a compassionate advocate, and a lifeline for patients who had nowhere else to turn.
Today, we honor not only his life, but the legacy he left behind.
Seventeen years later the fight remains.
Across the country, clinics continue to close. Providers face harassment, intimidation, and violence. Patients are forced to travel hundreds of miles for care. Medication abortion remains under relentless political attack despite being proven safe and effective for more than two decades. And once again, the future of access hangs in the balance.
Dr. Tiller understood what we are witnessing today: abortion access has never been equal.
Those with resources will always have options.
It is low-income people, Black and Brown communities, immigrants, rural residents, young people, people with disabilities, and those already struggling to make ends meet who bear the greatest burden when access is restricted.
Every person has their own story. Their own circumstances. Their own reasons.
Everyone deserves safe, affordable, compassionate abortion care regardless of where they live, how much money they make, or who they are.
At WRRAP we see the impact of these barriers. We also see the resilience of patients, providers, and advocates who refuse to give up.
Today, we remember Dr. Tiller. We honor his courage.
And we recommit ourselves to the work he dedicated his life to: ensuring that access to abortion is not determined by a zip code, a bank account, or political ideology.
Racial justice is reproductive justice. Economic justice is reproductive justice.
Healthcare is a human right.
We will never stop fighting.
|sHealthcare TrustWomen BIPOCHealth
