Posted on 06/12/2009 1:23:23 PM PDT by wagglebee
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former abortion practitioner Bernard Nathanson, who has since converted to the pro-life position, was a former mentor of George Tiller, the slain late-term abortion practitioner. In a new interview, Nathanson said he was surprised that Tiller never became pro-life himself because of new medical technologies.
Nathanson is no stranger to the abortion industry, having done more than 75,000 abortions himself during the 1960s and 1970s and presiding over one of the nation's premier pro-abortion groups, NARAL.
He earned widespread praise from the pro-life movement for his movie "Silent Scream" which showed the advancement in ultrasound technology and how an abortion destroys human life.
"I knew George Tiller years ago when I was on the pro-abortion side," he told the Washington Times. "He came to a course I was giving in the technique of abortion in New York in 1970 under the auspices of NARAL. And I did late-term abortions until I changed my opinion as of 1980."
"My switch to pro-life had nothing to do with religion," he told the newspaper.
"Tiller was a church-going man, which doesn't say a whole lot in this country, but one wonders why he never changed his mind based on the scientific evidence. That is where I changed my mind, based on fetoscopies and ultrasound studies," Nathanson added.
"Once we had ultrasound in place, we could study the fetus and see it was a member of our community. If you don't do that, you're just a creature of political ideology. In 1970, there were approximately 1,100 articles on the functioning of the fetus. By 1990, there were 22,000. The data piled up swiftly and opened a window into the womb," Nathanson continued.
The former abortion practitioner admitted to the Times that he, too, could have been shot had he continued to do abortions.
"Yes, that is correct," he said. "But I wasn't."
Tiller was allegedly shot by Scott Roeder, a militia activist with no affiliations with any pro-life organizations. Roeder's family has also indicated that he battled with mental illness over the years.
Hundreds of pro-life groups have since issued statements condemning the shooting and saying it doesn't represent the views of the majority of Americans who are pro-life on abortion and seek legal and peaceful means to protect human life.
However, that hasn't stopped pro-abortion groups from attacking the majority of Americans who take a pro-life position on abortion and referring to them as terrorists.
And this is why abortionists are TERRIFIED of ultrasounds.
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The former abortion practitioner admitted to the Times that he, too, could have been shot had he continued to do abortions.
There's an angle to this whole moral/legal question that has fascinated me for years. I'd be very curious to know what Nathanson would think about the moral justification of shooting him after he had killed, say, his first 5,000 victims.
ask him! I’m sure he would respond to you.
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OK Dr. Nathanson, I remember you “switching” to Pro-Life and that’s fine and I was certainly pleased when you did so. You said it wasn’t “religion”, I’ll give you that too but I would also remind you that according to you, it took ultrasound to convince you of the unborn’s humanity, er, “member of our community”, how quaint.
I thank GOD that my kinfolk generations before didn’t have to rely on some instrument (and a wonderful instrument it is) to convince them that the unborn baby they carried was indeed a HUMAN BEING.
Each one of us will be held accountable for our thoughts, actions and words on that “great gettin’ up morn” whether we acknowledge that truth or not. Glad you are among us Dr. Nathanson, now take the next step and give God the glory and the honor and do the right thing. He’s listening...
According to Wiki, Nathanson converted to Catholicism in 1996.
Well thank you for that! Appreciate it.
Or in the case of history, pummeled by 1000 pound bombs ;)
He might already be a Christian. It’s just that late term abortion is so obviously wrong that any atheist with a brain and eyes should be able to understand.
Even atomic bombs sometimes don’t work. When Hirohito decided to call it quits. there were fanatics who wanted to kidnap him and force him to continue the war.
There is always at least one maniac crazier than the last one.
Most of the woman who see an ultrasound of their baby CHOOSE LIFE!
I might be misreading your comment, but it sounds like Dr. N’s conversion doesn’t wipe away his previous sins in your eyes?
“I once was lost, but now I’m found” has some amazing consequences. I, for one, would not want to be judged by my before-conversion life. I suspect God will not judge Dr. Nathanson by his...
This is what they call a New Life in Christ, is it not?
You misread my meaning apparently. When Dr. Nathanson left the abortion business, I don’t believe it was a real conversion other than ultrasound (technology, not faith) had convinced him that the unborn were human beings from the get-go (this sounds simplistic I know but that’s how I thought about it at the time), which I applauded, realizing that most changes are taken a step at a time.
My plea was for him to complete that “journey” and renew his life through Christ, not actually knowing if he had made that last step. Another FReeper completed the loop for me concerning Dr. Nathanson’s spiritual journey.
That’s why I love FR, somebody usually can help out to save a lot of needless thrashing around for information.
Yes, I love FR too.
I may be called crass, not that I really care ('cause I don't), but I feel nothing at Tiller's death, not even sympathy for his family. As much death as that man has caused...it would be like asking me to have sympathy over Josef Mengele's death.
As I see it, and as his own actions in life have shown, he simply had a very late term abortion performed on him.
(Murder, your honor? I can't be charged with murder. I simply practiced abortion, just like the deceased. He was never charged with murder so why should I? Now, as to practicing medicine without a license...guilty as charged!)
I wonder what he thinks about that? Oh, that's right! He's dead, just like the thousands of others who are dead at his hands!
Dead men have no comments.
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