Dr. Alveda King on the Killing of George Tiller

In the wake of the killing of abortionist George Tiller, I asked my good friend, Alveda King, if she would share her thoughts with Sunlit Uplands readers. Alveda is the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, she has lost members of her family to violence, she is a veteran of the civil rights movement in her own right, and had an abortion before becoming a leader in the pro-life movement. I am grateful for the following thoughts that she has allowed me to share:

“Two years ago, I visited George Tiller’s clinic in hope of telling him that babies desire mercy. I wanted to share with him the harm I experienced from abortion. My prayer was that one day he would join me in repentance. I am deeply sorry that his life was taken before that could happen.

“It’s especially horrifying that Dr. Tiller was shot in church. My grandmother, Alberta King, was killed by a Christian-hating gunman as she played the organ during Sunday services. Just as the womb should be a safe haven, so should church. I condemn this murder in the strongest possible terms.

A colleague of mine in a pro-life African-American coalition, Pastor Stephen Broden, also declared, 'Pro-lifers are devastated by the Tiller killing. In the great tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we pray, march, and counsel peacefully. Just as earlier civil rights workers, pro-lifers do not answer violence with violence.'”