No excuses for doctor's murder

Inter Lake editorial

The murder of Dr. George Tiller last week was a despicable act which must be condemned by all right-thinking Americans.

Tiller was an abortion provider, and not everyone agrees with the morality of abortion, but moral differences do not justify murder. If they did, then every moral difference between one religion and another could excuse abominable behavior. That was tried in Western Civilization once, but we call that period of history the Dark Ages now, and we must not ever tolerate a return to that madness.

First and foremost, we are a nation of laws, and until such time as the law is changed, abortion is a legal health service. Doctors such as Tiller are subject to hatred and protest, and that is within the right of abortion opponents. But as soon as hatred turns to violence, it has ceased to be a right and has become a crime.

The accused killer reportedly complained from jail, "I haven't been convicted of anything, and I am being treated as a criminal."

That's right, and if convicted, he should be sentenced harshly. Let us be clear: Just because you fashion yourself as pro-life does not give you the right to take the law into your own hands.

A SHARP DECLINE in Northwest Montana's whitetail deer population is disturbing, but it was also predictable.

The compounding impacts of predators, liberal hunting regulations in recent years and two tough winters in a row have created a declining trend for the population. Spring field surveys are finding an average ratio of 24 fawns per 100 adults, well below the region's long-term average of 49 per 100.

While many people are quick to point to predators, particularly the growing presence of wolves in the region, Montana Fish, Wildife and Parks officials make a compelling case that winter weather can be the biggest population driver.

While fully acknowledging that predators indeed have an impact, they can point to the low ratio of 25 fawns per 100 adults in the Flathead Valley bottom, where predators are not a major influence. Deep snow, however, which lasted from December into March, certainly did have an impact on fawn survival.