Hundreds mourn slain abortion doctor

WICHITA, Kan., June 6 (UPI) -- Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Wichita, Kan., for the funeral of George Tiller, the abortion doctor shot as he attended a church service.

There was a heavy police presence at College Hill United Methodist Church, out of concern about anti-abortion protesters and because of the large crowds, The Wichita Eagle reported. About 1,000 people packed the church sanctuary with another 300 in the parish hall.

Tiller was gunned down Sunday at Reformation Lutheran Church. Scott Roeder, 51, an anti-abortion and anti-government activist, has been charged with the killing.

Only one protester was visible. Daren Buchanan of Wichita showed up outside the church at 7 a.m., three hours before the start of the service, the newspaper said.

Many of those at the service, including the Rev. Lowell Michelson of Reformation Lutheran and Tiller's children, wore buttons with one of his maxims, "Attitude is everything." In the church, a portrait of Tiller, garlanded with flowers, bore the words "Trust women."

Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country willing to perform late abortions, had been a target of anti-abortion activists for years. He survived legal challenges, vandalism at his clinic and an earlier shooting when he was wounded in both arms.