Remarks by President Obama at Dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

Bush Presidential Center
Dallas, Texas

10:42 A.M. CDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Please be seated.  To President Bush and Mrs. Bush; to President Clinton and now-former Secretary Clinton; to President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Bush; to President and Mrs. Carter; to current and former world leaders and all the distinguished guests here today -- Michelle and I are honored to be with you to mark this historic occasion.

This is a Texas-sized party.  And that’s worthy of what we’re here to do today:  honor the life and legacy of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. 

When all the living former Presidents are together, it’s also a special day for our democracy.  We’ve been called “the world’s most exclusive club” -- and we do have a pretty nice clubhouse.  But the truth is, our club is more like a support group.  The last time we all got together was just before I took office.  And I needed that.  Because as each of these leaders will tell you, no matter how much you may think you’re ready to assume the office of the presidency, it’s impossible to truly understand the nature of the job until it’s yours, until you’re sitting at that desk. 

And that’s why every President gains a greater appreciation for all those who served before him; for the leaders from both parties who have taken on the momentous challenges and felt the enormous weight of a nation on their shoulders.  And for me, that appreciation very much extends to President Bush.

The first thing I found in that desk the day I took office was a letter from George, and one that demonstrated his compassion and generosity.  For he knew that I would come to learn what he had learned -- that being President, above all, is a humbling job.  There are moments where you make mistakes.  There are times where you wish you could turn back the clock.  And what I know is true about President Bush, and I hope my successor will say about me, is that we love this country and we do our best. 

Now, in the past, President Bush has said it’s impossible to pass judgment on his presidency while he’s still alive.  So maybe this is a little bit premature.  But even now, there are certain things that we know for certain.

We know about the son who was raised by two strong, loving parents in Midland, famously inheriting, as he says, “my daddy’s eyes and my mother’s mouth.”  (Laughter.)  The young boy who once came home after a trip to a museum and proudly presented his horrified mother with a small dinosaur tailbone he had smuggled home in his pocket.  (Laughter.)  I’ll bet that went over great with Barbara.

We know about the young man who met the love of his life at a dinner party, ditching his plans to go to bed early and instead talking with the brilliant and charming Laura Welch late into the night. 

We know about the father who raised two remarkable, caring, beautiful daughters, even after they tried to discourage him from running for President, saying, “Dad, you’re not as cool as you think you are.”  (Laughter.)  Mr. President, I can relate.  (Laughter.)  And now we see President Bush the grandfather, just beginning to spoil his brand-new granddaughter. 

So we know President Bush the man.  And what President Clinton said is absolutely true -- to know the man is to like the man, because he’s comfortable in his own skin.  He knows who he is.  He doesn’t put on any pretenses.  He takes his job seriously, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously.  He is a good man.

But we also know something about George Bush the leader.  As we walk through this library, obviously we’re reminded of the incredible strength and resolve that came through that bullhorn as he stood amid the rubble and the ruins of Ground Zero, promising to deliver justice to those who had sought to destroy our way of life. 

We remember the compassion that he showed by leading the global fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria, helping to save millions of lives and reminding people in some of the poorest corners of the globe that America cares and that we’re here to help.

We remember his commitment to reaching across the aisle to unlikely allies like Ted Kennedy, because he believed that we had to reform our schools in ways that help every child learn, not just some; that we have to repair a broken immigration system; and that this progress is only possible when we do it together.

Seven years ago, President Bush restarted an important conversation by speaking with the American people about our history as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.  And even though comprehensive immigration reform has taken a little longer than any of us expected, I am hopeful that this year, with the help of Speaker Boehner and some of the senators and members of Congress who are here today, that we bring it home -- for our families, and our economy, and our security, and for this incredible country that we love.  And if we do that, it will be in large part thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush.  (Applause.)

And finally, a President bears no greater decision and no more solemn burden than serving as Commander-in-Chief of the greatest military that the world has ever known.  As President Bush himself has said, “America must and will keep its word to the men and women who have given us so much."  So even as we Americans may at times disagree on matters of foreign policy, we share a profound respect and reverence for the men and women of our military and their families.  And we are united in our determination to comfort the families of the fallen and to care for those who wear the uniform of the United States.  (Applause.) 

On the flight back from Russia, after negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War, President Kennedy's secretary found a small slip of paper on which the President had written a favorite saying:  "I know there is a God.  And I see a storm coming.  If he has a place for me, I believe I am ready." 

No one can be completely ready for this office.  But America needs leaders who are willing to face the storm head on, even as they pray for God's strength and wisdom so that they can do what they believe is right.  And that’s what the leaders with whom I share this stage have all done.  That’s what President George W. Bush chose to do.  That’s why I'm honored to be part of today's celebration.

Mr. President, for your service, for your courage, for your sense of humor, and, most of all, for your love of country, thank you very much.  From all the citizens of the United States of America, God bless you.  And God bless these United States.  (Applause.) 

END               
10:50 A.M. CDT

President Obama travels to Waco, Texas to speak at a memorial service for those lost and injured in the deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in nearby West, Texas.

President and Mrs. Obama joined all the former living Presidents -- and four previous First Ladies -- for the event in Dallas, Texas.

Shaun Donovan and Cecilia Munoz highlight the impact of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative.

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Poll: George W. Bush’s approval rating rising post-White House

A new poll shows former President George W. Bush’s approval rating rising, four years after he left office and as he returns to the public spotlight for the opening of his presidential library.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Tuesday shows 47 percent approve of Bush, with 50 percent disapproving. When Bush left office in 2009 after his second term, his approval rating was 33 percent positive to 66 percent negative, one of the lowest figures among presidents.

Among Republicans, Bush holds a strong 84-15 positive split. With Democrats, 25 percent approve of the former president’s performance to 73 percent disapproval. Forty-five percent of independents approve of Bush to 51 percent disapproving.

Among registered voters, the former president’s approval rating of 47 is equal to that of Obama’s in the last Post-ABC poll.

The decision to invade Iraq remains Bush’s most contentious issue, with a majority disapproving of his handling of that war. Fifty-seven percent disapprove of the decision to go to war, down from 65 percent in the spring of 2008.

Bush’s economic approval numbers have also improved with 43 percent approving of his handling of the economy to 53 percent disapproving. When he left office only 24 percent approved of Bush on the economy.

The poll’s findings come as Bush prepares to open his presidential library on Thursday, the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. He will be joined by President Obama and former Presidents Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Carter.

In an interview published Monday in USA Today, Bush said he felt “no need to defend" himself over the high-profile decisions that marked his term, saying he would leave those appraisals to history.

“There's no need to defend myself,” Bush said. “I did what I did and ultimately history will judge.”

Bush said the library would be a place to “lay out the facts” behind his key policy decisions and would let visitors make their own judgments about the Iraq war, the financial crisis and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

The president has kept a low profile since leaving office, staying out of the media spotlight. 

“I'm happy to be out of the limelight. I truly am,” Bush said. “My life is obviously much simpler than it was in the past, but in many ways, the simplicity creates contentment.”

Bush’s brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has said he would consider a run for the 2016 GOP presidential bid and is seen as a prime contender for the nomination.

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George S. Patton, Jr.

(Difference between revisions)On August 1 his Third Army poured through the breach in the German lines made by the First Army near St. Lô. The ensuing rapid sweep through Brittany and across northern France often defied logistic difficulties, especially the constant shortage of diesel fuel for tanks and trucks. The Third Army continued to play a major role in the winter fighting, helping stem the German counteroffensive in the [[Ardennes mountains|Ardennes]] called the "[[Battle of the Bulge]].". In the final offensive Patton struck boldly and suddenly across the Rhine after a blitz encirclement of the Saar Basin and advanced across central Germany. He secretly sent a rescue mission to liberate a POW camp that contained a relative of his; the raid was a total failure. Overall, his Third Army defeated 1,800,000 Germans, with lower casualty rates than any other army in World War II.On August 1 his Third Army poured through the breach in the German lines made by the First Army near St. Lô. The ensuing rapid sweep through Brittany and across northern France often defied logistic difficulties, especially the constant shortage of diesel fuel for tanks and trucks. The Third Army continued to play a major role in the winter fighting, helping stem the German counteroffensive in the [[Ardennes mountains|Ardennes]] called the "[[Battle of the Bulge]].". In the final offensive Patton struck boldly and suddenly across the Rhine after a blitz encirclement of the Saar Basin and advanced across central Germany. He secretly sent a rescue mission to liberate a POW camp that contained a relative of his; the raid was a total failure. Overall, his Third Army defeated 1,800,000 Germans, with lower casualty rates than any other army in World War II.Near the end of the war, he developed a plan to liberate Czechoslovakia from Communist rule.  Given his experience fighting the Germans, the offensive would have crushed the 10,000,000 men of the Red army and prevented the Cold War. Liberals in the United States feared he would win, so they convinced Eisenhower to stop him from attacking.Near the end of the war, he developed a plan to liberate Czechoslovakia from Communist rule.  Given his experience fighting the Germans, the offensive would have easily crushed the 10,000,000 men of the Red army and prevented the Cold War. Liberals in the United States feared he would win, so they convinced Eisenhower to stop him from attacking.He attained four-star rank shortly before the end of the war. He died Dec. 21, 1945, after an automobile accident, and was buried in the U.S. military cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg.He attained four-star rank shortly before the end of the war. He died Dec. 21, 1945, after an automobile accident, and was buried in the U.S. military cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg. November 11, 1885
San Gabriel, California George Smith Patton, Sr
Ruth Wilson Christian (Formerly Episcopalian, Roman Catholic convert) Beatrice Smith
Ruth Ellen Patton Totten
George S. Patton IV December 21, 1945
Heidelberg, Germany American Cemetery and Memorial
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Virginia Military Institute
United States Military Academy US 1st Armored Corps
U.S. II Corps
US 1st Armored Corps
U.S. Seventh Army
U.S. Third Army
U.S. Fifteenth Army

General George Smith Patton Jr. was a celebrated and controversial American general in World War II, famed for his successes in armored warfare against the Germans in 1944-45. His public image of tough-minded courage in battle remains fixed in the popular image of the war.

Patton served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France in World War I as a senior tank officer. In World War II, he commanded U.S. Army invasions of North Africa (1942-43) and Sicily (1943). He perfected the art of lightning-fast tank maneuvers and unrestrained aggression, and he was the only Allied leader feared by the Germans. Prior to being deployed in North Africa, Patton led his men in war games in Atlanta that were supposed to last for many days. Patton’s innovative tactics and the unbridled enthusiasm of his men enabled him to win the games in just a day or two. Patton inspired a unique loyalty and spirit in his men that enabled his troops to win quicker and with fewer casualties than anyone else.

Liberals hated Patton and feared that, after defeating the Germans, he would then push the communist Russian forces out of Eastern Europe. Given Patton's brilliance as a general, the liberals' fear was right, for once. Exploiting an exaggerated incident whereby Patton slapped a wounded soldier, liberal military leadership gave Patton command in 1944 of a 'fake' army designed to fool the Germans as to where the invasion of France would take place. He was then given command of a major unit, the Third Army, pushed the Germans out of France, defended and counterattacked at the Battle of the Bulge, then rolled through Germany in 1945. He died in an automobile accident. Patton has a very high visibility as a gruff, no nonsense, attacker who promoted armored force as they key to mobility and victory. His lightning-fast tank maneuvers shocked even the inventors of blitzkrieg.

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Patton was born on a ranch in San Gabriel, California.His wealthy southern family had a history of fine military service and his grandfather was an American Civil War hero. He attended Virginia Military Institute and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, receiving his commission in the cavalry in 1909.

Patton served with General John J. Pershing in Mexico and accompanied him to France in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) upon American entry into World War I in 1917. There he showed interest in the mobility and firepower of a new invention, tank, capable of crossing trenches, pushing through barbed wire, and shielding soldiers inside from machine gun bullets and (some) artillery fragments. He established a tank training school (the couterpart of a traininbg center run by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the States). Patton organized the First Tank Brigade, which he commanded in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. Wounded during the latter action, he saw no further active service in World War I.

Between the wars, Patton recognized the advantages of the tank but his superiors did not; the tank units were disbanded and he was reassigned to the cavalry.

At the outbreak of World War II, as commander of the Second Armored Division and the First Armored Corps, he oversaw the training of the Armored Force. In November 1942 he led the Western Task Force in Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa; later he commanded the Second Corps in Tunisia. In July 1943 he led the newly formed U.S. Seventh Army in the attack on Sicily. His name became a byword for aggressive fighting and unexpected maneuvers. Although Patton had seen many cases of shell-shock, he was disgusted when one healthy-looking soldier was hospitalized, struck him, called him a coward, and talked of shooting him. News reporters, who admired Patton, covered up the story but the hospital doctors complained to his superior, Eisenhower. Eisenhower almost sent Patton home in disgrace and when the news broke the Army was embarrassed to be associated with brutality. Patton was made commander of a fake army operating in England that fooled the Germans into deciding the Allied invasion would come at Calais, far east of the actual landing point in Normandy. After the landings succeeded, Eisenhower gave Patton command of the Third Army, reporting to Patton's former subordinate Omar Bradley.

On August 1 his Third Army poured through the breach in the German lines made by the First Army near St. Lô. The ensuing rapid sweep through Brittany and across northern France often defied logistic difficulties, especially the constant shortage of diesel fuel for tanks and trucks. The Third Army continued to play a major role in the winter fighting, helping stem the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes called the "Battle of the Bulge.". In the final offensive Patton struck boldly and suddenly across the Rhine after a blitz encirclement of the Saar Basin and advanced across central Germany. He secretly sent a rescue mission to liberate a POW camp that contained a relative of his; the raid was a total failure. Overall, his Third Army defeated 1,800,000 Germans, with lower casualty rates than any other army in World War II.

Near the end of the war, he developed a plan to liberate Czechoslovakia from Communist rule. Given his experience fighting the Germans, the offensive would have easily crushed the 10,000,000 men of the Red army and prevented the Cold War. Liberals in the United States feared he would win, so they convinced Eisenhower to stop him from attacking.

He attained four-star rank shortly before the end of the war. He died Dec. 21, 1945, after an automobile accident, and was buried in the U.S. military cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg.

Patton also perfected the art of lightning-fast tank maneuvers and unrestrained aggression. He was first given control over the 3rd Cavalry which was transfered into a tank division. Once Patton led his men in war games in Atlanta that were supposed to last for many days. Patton's aggression and the enthusiasm of his men enabled him to win the games in just a day or two. Patton inspired a unique loyalty and spirit in his men that enabled his troops to win quicker and with few casualties than everyone else. A German profile once said he could swear like a stable boy, but be as complimentary as a king. Patton had no part of the D-Day landings because he was in temporary disgrace after slapping a shell-shocked US soldier while visiting a military hospital during the Sicily campaign. Just six months after the war in Europe ended, Patton died in a car crash in Berlin, Germany in 1945 on his way to lunch with a friend.

Patton's fame derives primarily from his record as an outstanding practitioner of mobile armored warfare. Quick-tempered and bluff in speech, he was frequently involved in political controversy, not least because of his propensity to racist and anti-Semitic remarks. He was nicknamed "Old Blood and Guts" by his men, who disliked his minute attention to dress codes even in battle zones. Patton's war diary was published posthumously in 1947 under the title "War As I Knew It."

Patton became famous to new generations due to an Oscar-winning 1970 movie starring George C. Scott in the title role. It is a biographical film, based based on the books Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, by Ladislas Farago, and A Soldier's Story, by General of the Army Omar Bradley (Bradley served as technical adviser in the film, and was himself played by Karl Malden). The opening scene is one of the most familiar in film history, with Patton standing before a large American flag and delivering a speech to unseen troops based upon one he gave on June 5th, 1944[1], yet sanitizing away several of the obscenities. Patton used harsh and foul language and castigated cowards, or "psychoneurotics," and those who used self-inflicted wounds to get out of combat. The basic message was "shoot and keep shooting"[2], keeping with the General's standing order of "Always take the offensive; never dig in."

The movie was originally filmed and presented on 70mm wide-screen film, and had a dimension of spectacle which cannot be fully appreciated in home video. Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and originally distributed by 20th Century Fox, Patton won seven academy awards including "Best Picture." Critic Roger Ebert said it was "released at the height of the unpopular war in Vietnam, was described by many reviewers at the time as "really" an anti-war film. It was nothing of the kind. It was a hard-line glorification of the military ethic, personified by a man whose flaws and eccentricities marginalized him in peacetime, but found the ideal theater in battle. In this he was not unlike Churchill; both men used flamboyance, eccentricity and a gift for self-publicity as a way of inspiring their followers and perplexing the enemy. That Patton was in some ways mad is not in doubt--at least to the makers of this film--but his accomplishments overshadowed, even humiliated, his cautious and sane British rival, Montgomery."[3]

Patton, an Episcopalian, believed in reincarnation and that he himself had been the hero in many important battles in the ancient world of Rome and Greece. Patton's son, George S. Patton IV, also an Army officer, served near the conclusion of World War II. He also served in Korea and Vietnam, and attained the rank of major general. Toward the end of his career, he was given command of the 2nd Armored Division, the same unit his father had commanded at the beginning of World War II, making father and son the first Army officers to command the same Army division. Patton retired from active service in 1980. A cousin of George S Patton Jr. was Democratic Congressman from Georgia Larry McDonald who was on Korean Airlines Flight 007 shot down by the Soviets near Moneron Island just west of Sakhalin Island on Sept. 1, 1983. "May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't" Axelrod, Alan. Patton: A Biography. (2006). 205 pp. excerpt and text search Berragan, G. W. "Who Should Bear Primary Responsibility for the Culmination of Patton's Us Third Army on the Moselle in 1944? Are There Lessons for Contemporary Campaign Planning?" Defence Studies 2003 3(3): 161-172. Issn: 1470-2436 Fulltext in Ingenta and Ebsco. Blumenson, Martin. The battle of the generals: the untold story of the Falaise Pocket, the campaign that should have won World War II (1993) Blumenson, Martin. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945 (1985) excerpt and text search Blumenson, Martin. The Battle of the Generals: The Untold Story of the Falaise Pocket - the Campaign That Should Have Won World War II. 1993. 288 pp. D'Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius for War (1995) 978pp Dietrich, Steve E. "The Professional Reading of General George S. Patton, Jr." Journal of Military History 1989 53(4): 387-418. Issn: 0899-3718 Fulltext in Jstor Essame, H. Patton: A Study in Command. 1974. 280 pp. Hirshson. Stanley P. General Patton: A Soldier's Life. (2002) Pullen, John J. "'You Will Be Afraid.'" American Heritage 2005 56(3): 26-29. Issn: 0002-8738 Fulltext in Ebsco. Rickard, John Nelson. Patton at Bay: The Lorraine Campaign, September to December 1944. Praeger, 1999. 295 pp. Showalter, Dennis. Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century (2005). Smith, David Andrew. George S. Patton: A Biography. Greenwood, 2003. 130 pp. Spires, David N. Patton's Air Force: Forging a Legendary Air-Ground Team. 2002. 377 pp. Weigley, Russell F. Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany 1944-1945 (1981) Wilson, Dale Eldred. `Treat 'Em Rough'! The United States Army Tank Corps in the First World War. Temple U. Press (1990). 352 pp. George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It (1947) excerpt and text search Blumenson, Martin, ed. The Patton Papers. Vol. 1, 1885-1940. 1972. 996 pp.; The Patton Papers: Vol. 2, 1940-1945. 1974. 889 pp. ? http://www.pattonhq.com/speech.html? Pullen (2005)? http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020317/REVIEWS08/203170301/1023

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As George Tiller’s Wichita Clinic Reopens, ‘After Tiller’ Reframes The Abortion Debate

In Mother Jones today, Kate Sheppard has the news that Dr. George Tiller’s abortion clinic in Wichita, shuttered after he was murdered at his church in 2009, will be reopening under the leadership of Julie Burkhart, who worked with Tiller when he was alive. In Burkhart’s conversation with Sheppard, she says that she decided to reopen the clinic in part because no one else would do it, and because she wants to reframe the debate about abortion care. “I think abortion is about motherhood,” she said. “Abortion is about motherhood because by and large women coming in to have abortions are concerned about the kind of life and the future for their children. Women are thinking in a very responsible manner when choosing that.”

These are important points, and ones made at greater length in one of the best documentaries I saw at the Sundance Film Festival in January, After Tiller. By first-time directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson, After Tiller spends time not just with the four remaining doctors in the United States who are willing to perform late-term abortions—Burkhart’s clinic will not—but with many of their patients. It’s a set of perspectives that rarely enters the national debate about the legality of abortion procedures. The testimony of women and men who badly wanted children who have grown too sick to survive, and of doctors who help them when almost no one else will, may not convince the people who protest outside the four doctors’ clinics, and for whom the questions involved have simple and obvious answers.

But for anyone else watching the film, it will be clear, as Dr. Susan Robinson says, that no one ever wants an abortion, particularly not the kind that she and her colleagues provide. And the doctors in After Tiller are providing their services not out of some sort of attraction to the procedure that’s become their calling card, but out of a conviction that women shouldn’t be abandoned in their decision-making processes. After Tiller is a powerful reminder that abortion in America is less about desire than about need, and a matter not of carelessness, but the result of dreadful deliberations.

Many of the patients who agreed to have their consultations with the doctors filmed in After Tiller are facing the prospect of aborting children they planned to have, but whose pregnancies have gone terribly awry along the way. “It just didn’t seem fair to her,” say the parents of one child who would live in agonizing pain if she were born. Another describes a dreadful dilemma, saying “It’s guilt because we’re doing what we’re doing and guilt because if we brought him into this world he wouldn’t have any quality of life.” Monica, a patient whose child was diagnosed at 25 weeks with a debilitating illness that would cause his certain death if he were born, ultimately chooses to have an abortion rather than delay an inevitable decision to end her child’s life—better now, she ultimately decides, than to make him suffer before turning off his respirator so she can have had the experience of his brief, agonizing life. “It is hurtful because it was a planned pregnancy, and I did want this,” another patient explains.

Much of the focus of the consultations and on the planning for these families’ abortions is focused on giving them dignity and helping them process their emotions, both before and after their procedures. “The only time they get to say hello to their baby is when they have to say goodbye to it, too,” Dr. Robinson explains. As she runs through a checklist to help a couple prepare for their abortion and the burial arrangements for their child, I started to cry in the theater when the shot showed that “blanket requested” was one of the options on the list. There’s an incredible cruelty to the genetic lottery that forces parents to convert receiving blankets to burial shrouds, and an incredible courage to those parents who have their only time with a child after that child has died. Dr. Shelley Sella counsels two couples with ill children together, telling them “Both of you have babies who are really sick, and both of you have babies who would suffer a lot,” and giving them an opportunity to see that their experience is neither solitary nor shameful.

Even beyond the difficulty of the decision to have a late-term abortion itself, the procedure is daunting. Susan, a counselor who does intake at Dr. Robinson and Dr. Sella’s clinic in Albequerque, talks one patient through the fact that she’s going to have go through an actual labor and delivery. There’s no question that process is draining. But as Susan explains it, it’s necessary precisely to preserve the patients’ childbearing ability for future, unclouded pregnancies. “We want to make sure you can make a family when you cant to have a family,” she says. There’s none of the horribly stereotypical glee—much less moral distance—anti-abortion protestors ascribe to the doctors and patients whose lives they make difficult. “The woman delivers a baby. And it’s a stillborn. And that’s hard to deal with,” Dr. Sella reflects. “I think the reason that I’ve struggled is I think of them as babies. I don’t think of it as a fetus. That’s a way to distance myself from what I do.”

After Tiller also does something interesting in making clear that there are abortions the doctors won’t perform, or that they truly struggle with performing. Dr. Robinson turns down a patient from France who is 35 weeks pregnant, but has no fetal abnormalities—the woman essentially had delayed dealing with her pregnancy while traveling—and Susan counsels her to consider adoption as an alternative instead. The two women also debate whether or not Dr. Robinson should perform a procedure for a 16-year-old, pro-life Catholic who was afraid to tell her mother she was pregnant, in part because Susan is worried that the girl’s mind truly isn’t made up about having an abortion, and that her regret later could be psychologically damaging. Dr. Robinson only decides to go forward when the patient convinces her that she is determined to have an abortion.

But it’s an illustration of the challenges that stem both from respecting a woman’s decision-making process when she, herself, may not have made up her mind, and from legal requirements in some states that patients convince doctors that their pregnancies threaten them. “Kansas law required the patient to present you with a story that compelled you to believe that this pregnancy would threaten her life…I found myself being faced with patients who didn’t have the compelling reasons they had in Kansas…Where does it come from that I get to say, ‘well, why?’” Dr. Robinson asks. “What if you’re just not a good storyteller?…What I believe is that women are able to struggle with complex ethical issues and make the best decisions for themselves and their families.”

In After Tiller, there are real costs to helping women make some of the worst decisions any of us could ever be faced with, and to helping them see those choices through with compassion. Some of the doctors have paid prices in blood, whether it’s the loss of Tiller, a friend and mentor to all of them, the threats that have become sharper to Dr. Hern as he’s started his second family later in life, the stable owned by Dr. Leroy Carhart, which was burned down in 1991, killing 21 horses who were borded there, or simply the lost prospect of retirement in a world where no one appears willing to replace them.

But they persist, telling rape victims they deserve justice, telling families who are shattered by the loss of a wanted child that they owe it to themselves to be kind and to avoid self-recrimination, and performing medical procedures that echo the work many of them did bringing life into the world. Without ever needing to state it directly, After Tiller makes a forceful point that’s too easily forgotten or obscured in political debates about abortion. It’s easy to “pray for healing” for women who are having late-term abortions. But it’s abortion doctors who provide these women and their partners real physical and mental care.

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