The gunning down of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller fills me not just with grief but with revulsion and anger.

Revulsion at the hypocrite who would murder a man in church, of all places, because he considers abortion to be murder.

And anger at the rightwing and, in particular, Bill O’Reilly, for running a campaign of hate against Tiller, whom O’Reilly often described as “Tiller the Baby Killer,” someone O’Reilly said was guilty of “Nazi stuff” who was practicing medicine according to the laws of the land and the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to Salon, “O’Reilly and his guest hosts have brought up the doctor on at least 29 episodes since February 2005,” thundering about the blood on Tiller’s hands and the fate that awaits him on Judgment Day.

Well, now someone has played God, and another doctor is dead, slain by the far right and the anti-abortion zealots in our midst.

Those zealots are even applauding this murder.

Here are some comments posted at freerepublic.com:

“One less Nazi, as far as I’m concerned.”

“His killer did a great service when no one else would.”

The cite littlegreenfootballs also noted some hideous comments on a Fox News affiliate website in Kansas City:

“Seems to me he got what he deserved. We now have one less child killer on the loose.”

“The killing of George Tiller is an eye for an eye, but much too late IMO. He’d have to die many, many times over to make up for the babies he has murdered.”

“One down—how many left to go? The shooter is a martyr, my prayers are with him.”

I’m repulsed by all this,

I’m horrified by the murderous hatred ginned up by the rightwing, and I’m tired, tired of waking up hearing about another abortion provider slain.

Fifteen years ago, The Progressive ran a powerful piece by an abortion provider I knew and greatly admired. Her name was Elizabeth Karlin. I just called her “Dr. Liz.”

She died tragically of brain cancer. But in her article a few years before she died, she talked about choosing not to wear a bulletproof vest to work because the nuts could always shoot her in the head.

“I have learned to do safe abortions. What I haven’t learned yet is what the hell to wear to work.”

Dr. George Tiller hadn’t learned yet what the hell to wear to church.