Malcolm Cutchins: More on Tiller, his clinic and his murder
Columnist
Published: June 4, 2009
The murder of widely known, late-term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller in Kansas is certainly inexcusable.
The perpetrator of this murder should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Writers who express opinions about this case, and fail to note either that Dr. Tiller specialized in late third trimester abortions or that he performed an estimated 60,000 such abortions, are not being fully truthful and would be tainting their opinion by such omissions. We could assume that roughly half of those he snuffed out were females, so the claim that he provided “good healthcare to women” is not exactly true. Only three doctors in the country performed such abortions. For one of the best articles on this senseless event, see “A Wicked Deed in Wichita” at http://www.albertmohler.org.
On the subject of abortion, of all the possible diverse views President Obama’s appointees have, they do not differ on one issue. See “Honor Killing, American Style: What science and Roe v. Wade made possible has become virtually mandatory among our self-anointed elites,” The Weekly Standard, April 13; 20, pps. 17-20, by Sam Schulman. He concludes: “Strict orthodoxy reigns only on one issue … abortion.”
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Readers who have withholding deducted from their income may have noticed the devious reduction in federal withholding recently. Be sure and also notice the statement that accompanies the adjustment, “Your tax liability has not changed.” Wise citizens will change the deduction back to at least the amount it was before this “sucker punch” landed, or be surprised at tax-paying time next April.
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My brother-in-law, Dr. Bob Mount, often writes very knowledgeably about animal life at his home or in Lee County or in our state. My experience by a multi-acre lake in north Auburn has been quite enjoyable. We have red birds, red-wing blackbirds, finches, several kinds of woodpeckers, grosbeaks, mocking birds, king birds, blue herons, a Chuck-Will’s-Widow, hawks, and numerous other species in abundance. There are often ducks and Canadian Geese when it’s cooler.
Carolina Wrens, phoebes, and bluebirds have all nested within 20-feet of the house. A few snakes have shown up and it’s nice to know a herpetologist to go to for identification, especially for that red-bellied water snake that looked so menacing. The humming birds are very voracious feeders this year, emptying two four-inch long tubes of sugar-water three times a day if I get to fill them that often. To see the birds feed 12-inches from one’s face and hear the hum of their fast beating wings are two of the more fantastic things one can observe.
Recently, a pair of Northern quail has been around quite often. Hearing the Bob White’s call from 20-feet away and seeing their unique color and pattern from 10-feet are amazing experiences.
Dr. Malcolm Cutchins is an emeritus professor of engineering of Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.
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hbd1932 went too far in my view in that some late term abortions do not involve a viable fetus. Other fetuses, even if “viable”, would have little if any quality of life. Also, a perfectly viable baby could very well endanger the health of the mother if brought to full term and then delivered. What counsel might hbd1932 or a similarly believing person give to a women, plus her family and doctor(s) as well, facing any of these circumstances?
Dr. Cutchins -
While I disagree with you on many social issues, we aren’t too far apart on most economic issues. From a teaching/academic standpoint, I did want to ask you about the following comment in your May 11th column. You wrote:
“During my many years of teaching I gave almost 10,000 grades. For his reckless spending and about fifteen other anti-family things he has done, President Obama earns a failing grade as clearly as any I’ve ever given.“
While I agree with your grading of Obama (but for different reasons), I was disturbed by your use of the word “gave”. I cringe when my students say, “You GAVE me a C last quarter.“ I always explain at the start of every term and the end of every term that I “record” grades. My students are thoroughly briefed as to what level of mastery of course concepts is required for each letter grade.
Just curious if you or your colleagues ever found a student’s use of the term “gave” to be a way of denying responsibility for the grade earned. I was glad to see your use of the word “earned” in relation to Obama. And, I know what you meant by the term “gave”. Again, just curious as to your take on that word.
(Hopefully, you’ll see this comment and have time to answer. I also hope you’ll recognize that one way tolerance is expressed is by acknowledging differing opinions on some subjects while still remaining curious about someone’s opinion on other subjects.)
Late term abortions to my knowledge, takes place during the third trimester; the seventh, eighth, and ninth month. I was born during my mother’s seventh month of pregnancy. Let’s see… I had a heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, ten toes and fingers, a pair of eyes and ears, two arms and legs, and a soul. I was a person, an innocent baby who almost died when I entered this world. I was a human being the day before I was born and I am a human being today. If a person can survive outside of the mother’s body, then it is outright murder. How can an abortion doctor or anyone with a conscience take a baby in the third trimester of pregnancy and discard it like a piece of trash. This is inhuman and evil. This type of abortion is as insensitive to human life as the Nazis were.
I don’t understand why we get so worked up over abortion but then allow women to choose risky, alternative birthing methods that can result in injury or death to a newborn. VBACs and home deliveries are low-risk but low-risk doesn’t mean no-risk. If life is so precious why don’t we force women to deliver in a hospital and whatever the doc says is law? If the doc says c-section then the mother gets one with or without her consent.
With authorities like Southern Baptist theocrat Albert Mohler and the neo-conservative Weekly Standard’s Sam Schulman, Dr. Cutchins sharing language like “snuffed out” might be expected. That he doesn’t reference, or more likely doesn’t even accept, the rarity of late term abortion or the special medical circumstances which necessitates, or at least explains, such a decision actually taints his own opinion.
Also, I’d appreciate a solid citation to the claim Dr. tiller performed 60,000 late term abortions. If he did one a day he’d need a career spanning over a century and a half.
Nothing “devious” about the change in federal withholding. It’s been all over the internet.
Opting not to be an informed person on a particular topic doesn’t make the topic “devious”.
If you have two or more jobs; a working spouse; or income not subject to withholding (e.g., capital gains, rental income), then you may need to adjust your withholding.
The changes are due to the “Making Work Pay” tax credit. Since this credit is for earned income, retirees will want to ensure that enough is being withheld to avoid a surprise next April.
It is interesting that the government apparently believes taxpayers are too stupid or lazy to budget which is why it opted to increase net pay for everybody by a small amount over the entire year (you’ll spend the additional money) rather than sending a one-time check (you’ll save the money or pay-off debt).
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