DRAWING on OBSERVATIONS

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Commercials aired during the Super Bowl have a history of generating more buzz than the game itself. With 90-plus million viewers, ad agencies break out the top guns. This year CBS has agreed to air a controversial anti-abortion, pro-life ad, paid for by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. The ad features college football superstar Tim Tebow and his mom Pam Tebow. Tim has led his Florida Gators to their second national championship in three years. Twenty two years ago, while Pam was pregnant, she contracted amoebic dysentery. The prescribed medicines threatened her unborn fetus and doctors advised her to abort the fetus. Pam ignored the doctors advice and gave birth to the future Heisman trophy winner.

What are we to conclude?

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George Tiller. MD studied at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He held a medical internship with the United States Navy, and served as a flight surgeon. He planned to start a dermatology residency and become a dermatologist when his parents, sister and brother-in-law were killed in an aircraft accident. Tiller traveled to Wichita to assumed care of his sister’s one year old son and to close his father’s family practice. Upon arriving, he felt pressure to take over his father’s work. Tiller’s father had performed abortions at his family practice and after hearing the tragic stories of how women died from illegal abortions, he decided to sacrifice his own goals and serve the community by staying in Wichita to provide and advocate for women’s health care. For that, he was demonized by the anti abortion (pro-life) extremists. His opponents protested daily outside his offices, his clinic was bombed, and he was shot in both arms with an automatic weapon. How much easier life would have been had he been a dermatologist and not had to live with the constant threat. At her trial for the 1993 shooting, Shelly Shannon testified that there was nothing immoral about trying to kill Tiller, such was the climate that George Tiller worked, day in and day out. What a brave and self sacrificing man.

On May 31, 2009, George Tiller was shot to death during worship services at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita where he was serving as an usher.

Rest in Peace.

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President Barack Obama received an honorary doctor of laws degree Sunday during the commencement ceremony at Notre Dame University. While a small number of pro life protesters were arrested for trespassing, the majority of students and faculty at the Catholic University welcomed the president. Obama acknowledged the irreconcilable differences of opinion on the abortion debate, but urged both factions to stop demonizing the other and begin to work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies.

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Could McCain break with the religious right by choosing Tom Ridge?