I met Dr. Tiller and had the opportunity to talk with him at several events during the time I worked for the Kansas Democratic Party. He was vilified by pro-life groups as some kind of monster, simply because he was a doctor who performed abortions and he believed unequivocally in a woman’s right to privacy. I think women’s rights opponents believed he was a monster because, no matter what they did, he never stopped fighting and it was only in death that he was forced to back down.

He was kind, he was friendly, he was a compassionate man, a human being who cared about other human beings. He was an irreplaceable activist who lived what he believed daily. That was not easy to do. Not in Kansas, as the front-and-center target in the battle against what he believed. They’ve tried to put him in jail, they’ve burned down his clinic, they’ve even shot him before.

But he did not back down. That, my friends, is the definition of hero.

Kansas is an odd place, where even otherwise liberal people tend to be pro-life and you find some of the most passionately pro-life activists around. But Dr. Tiller spent his life standing up in the face of all that and vehemently supporting what he believed in: reproductive rights for women. He fought, not for himself, but for others. And ultimately, he gave his life for this same cause when Scott Roeder showed up at his church and shot him in cold blood.

Roeder was found guilty today, of first degree murder. The jury took all of five minutes to return the verdict. He stands to spend 25 years, possibly 50 to life in prison. I am thrilled and relieved that the jury, quite obviously, gave no credence to the defense’s argument that this man was justified in his action because he was trying to save the lives of babies.

I am grateful that Dr. Tiller’s family now has some closure, that this jury from Kansas said, so unequivocally, this man is guilty and he shall pay.

Unfortunately, so shall the rest of us pay, through the loss of a rare and brave man.

Rest in peace, Dr. Tiller.

For more information about who Dr. Tiller is and what he did for women, visit Iamdrtiller.com