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There is nothing like an abortion story--except, of course, torture--to energize reporters into a hypersensitive use of language. ABC's Jeffrey Kofman and CBS' Jeff Glor and NBC's Janet Shamlian were all dispatched to Wichita to cover the death of gynecologist George Tiller at his Sunday morning Lutheran worship.
Was Tiller an abortionist? "A doctor specializing in women's health who also provided abortions"--ABC's Kofman…"one of only a handful of doctors performing late-term abortions, after the 21st week of pregnancy"--CBS' Glor…a "doctor, one of the few in the nation who performed late-term abortions"--NBC's Shamlian.
Were the picketers against Tiller's clinic pro-life? He "weathered massive protests, bombs at his clinic and in 1993 gunshot wounds"--ABC's Kofman…"The threat against Tiller was constant; his clinic had fortresslike security, round-the-clock guards and surveillance cameras; he often traveled with a bodyguard in a bulletproof vehicle"--CBS' Glor…"weathering years of attacks at his Wichita home and abortion clinic"--NBC's Shamlian.
What about Scott Roeder, Tiller's suspected murderer? "A man with a long history of extremist views against government and against abortion"--ABC's Kofman…an "anti-government activist" whose Website posting "called for the closing of George Tiller's death camp, comparing it to the Nazi concentration camp of Josef Mengele"--CBS' Glor…"believed to have acted alone"--NBC's Shamlian.
How did Tiller die? "Killed"--ABC's Kofman…"assassinated"--CBS' Glor…"killed"--NBC's Shamlian.
ABC's Kofman did not even mention Tiller's specialty in performing late-term procedures. CBS' Glor quoted Tiller's supporters as claiming he operated "only when the mother's life was at risk or when the child had a severe genetic disorder." NBC's Shamlian quoted Tiller's opponents. Operation Rescue leader Randall Terry thus: "He was a mass murderer. He sowed death and then he reaped death in a horrifying way." And The O'Reilly Factor anchor Bill O'Reilly on FOX News Channel thus: "In the state of Kansas there is a doctor--George Tiller--who will execute babies for $5,000."
As for Tyndall Report, our house style is to call anti-abortion activists "pro-life"…to call doctors who provide abortions "abortionists" when it is their primary specialty…to call the politically motivated murder of an individual "assassination"…the word "baby" refers to infants that are born; the word "fetus" for the viable occupant of a pregnant woman's womb; the word "embryo" when its development is immature…embryos and fetuses are "human" and "alive" but not "human lives," which refer only to the post-natal.
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