George Tiller’s Kansas abortion clinic set to reopen
Flowers placed in front of the Women’s Health Care Services abortion clinic serve as a memorial to Dr. George Tiller’s death after the 67-year-old late term abortion doctor was gunned down inside the foyer of the Reformation Lutheran Church May 31, 2009 in Wichita Kan.
Dr. George Tiller used to be one of the few doctors in the United States who specialized in late-term abortions, or abortions in the final weeks of pregnancy. He worked from his clinic in Wichita, Kansas. That ended in 2009, when an anti-abortion zealot shot and killed Tiller in church, and his clinic was then shuttered. But now, the clinic is set to reopen, the Associated Press reported. It has been purchased by the Trust Women Foundation, an abortion-rights group. The group will reopen the clinic as a family and women's health center that will offer services such as abortions.
The Trust Women Foundation is run by Julie Burkhart, a former Tiller employee, The Wichita Eagle reported. Her group has been trying to start a new clinic since Tiller's death.
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However, this new clinic will face strict regulations, KWCH reported. In the years since Tiller's death, Kansas anti-abortion laws have become much stricter. Among the new rules is a state law dictating that abortions can no longer be performed after 22 weeks of pregnancy, unless the mother's life is in danger. New rules also require that abortion clinics must come equipped with a hospital ER or surgical center.
As it stands, the new clinic will not offer late-term abortions because of the many new restrictions, the AP reported. It will, however, perform abortions in earlier stages of pregnancy.