For thirty years, I was the director of Allegheny Reproductive Health Center, but my work goes back even earlier. Before the Roe vs Wade decision, I volunteered with a referral group that found locations for women seeking an abortion. So early on I learned that women knew when it was or was not the right time for them to bring forth a new life. I heard their stories, I walked at their side as they sometimes anguished, always wanting make a moral choice. I have met their partners, their mothers, their grandmothers, friends and colleagues. Their stories have shaped my entire adult life as have the dedicated physicians and staff members I have worked with through the years. Through the women, our patients, I learned so much about life’s possibilities, the hopes and yearnings of women, young and old. I learned about courage, dignity and respect, and I hope I have given as good as I’ve received. I cannot imagine a richer, fuller life than I have had, sharing both the joy and the grief with so many families. Dr Tiller believed wholeheartedly in the work he did. So do the many thousands who will carry on after him.
I am Dr. Tiller.
