Dr. George Tiller, who provided late term abortions, has been murdered in his church in Kansas. A suspect is in custody, and law enforcement officials are supposed to have an announcement shortly.

I have long argued that the Roe vs. Wade case was a case of dubious legal interpretation by the majority of justices, and that I generally prefer to limit abortion more than is currently allowed in most states. having said that, I do not favor an absolute ban on it, because it is, sometimes, the least bad choice open to the woman. For the same reason, I don’t favor a return to 17th Century Britain’s practice of executing people for misdemeanors,but I do favor the death penalty for some very specific crimes. Capital punishment is sometimes the least bad choice for society. The murder of a doctor in his place of worship, while he was participating in the service, is particularly offensive to me. While I suspect that Dr. Tiller and I would not have had much in common politically or philosophically, his murder is offensive. I would have no problem with giving his killer a speedy trial and equally speedy execution.

Before the people on the left rise up in righteous anger, please pause and reflect. The secular left owns this problem every bit as much as the religious right. One of the people who helped President Obama get his political start was a man of strong beliefs and violent actions, much like the man who gunned down Dr. Tiller. The thing is, lots of people are willing to give William Ayers a pass for his actions as a domestic terrorist. Dr. Ayers is now a tenured member of a university faculty. The federal government botched his prosecution, so the case was dismissed. But Ayers has never really expressed much remorse for his behavior. Bombings in an effort to reshape public policy were acceptable to him. And apparently to the people who hail him as a great educator. Bombings were also employed by people who disagreed with Dr. Tiller. His clinic was the target of a domestic terrorist bomb. Now Dr. Tiller was shot while serving as an usher at his church. So here’s the thing – why are the people who shoot abortionists or bomb abortion clinics treated any differently than the people who shoot policemen (Jamal Mumia), or plan to bomb NCO clubs (Ayers and Dohrn) or actually are hoist by their own petard (Ayers’ inept Weathermen friends)?

Don’t misunderstand me. I oppose domestic terrorism, and murder. I believe both should be grounds for capital punishment. I find it offensive that anyone can find any way of defending murdering Dr. Tiller, whether he is an abortion provider or not.