Tiller remained committed to patients despite threat of violence

[Alonzo]

Beloved by some, hated by others, Dr. George Tiller died Sunday a central figure in the nation's emotional, fiery and sometimes violent debate over abortion.

Dr. Tiller -- recently acquitted of violating the state's late-term abortion laws -- was shot and killed Sunday morning in the lobby of Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.

Since first performing abortions after the monumental U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, Dr. Tiller had been threatened, shot, his Women's Health Care Services clinic bombed.

Despite the assaults against him by people who believed what he did was murder, he continued to make available what he thought was right, friends say: a woman's right to choose.

"He was far too committed to what he did to let all of those situations -- and there were many and they were constant -- stop him because he had a commitment to his patients," said Peggy Bowman, who served as his spokeswoman in the 1990s.

Bowman said one only had to read the hundreds of thank-you letters lining the walls of his clinic to know how he helped people facing decisions that others never face.

"Dr. Tiller always used to say that women are under the most stress at two times in their lives: when they are pregnant and don't want to be and when they want to be and can't," Bowman said.

A career in medicine

Dr. Tiller hadn't planned to practice in Wichita.

But he returned after a 1970 plane crash killed his parents, sister and brother-in-law, according to a 1986 story in The Wichita Eagle.

Following in his father's footsteps, Dr. Tiller studied medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He joined the Navy, working as an intern for four years in aerospace medicine and spending more than a year as a Navy flight surgeon.

"I'd never planned to come back to Wichita. I'd never planned to be a family physician," Dr. Tiller said in the 1986 story.

After much of his family died, Dr. Tiller returned to Wichita to take over his father's clinic and care for his grandmother and his sister's 1-year-old child.

An Associated Press story said that one of his father's patients asked Dr. Tiller whether he planned to perform abortions like his father had. He said he hadn't known that his father had provided that service, which was illegal at the time.

He hung a portrait of his father at Women's Health Care Services, which he opened in 1975, with the inscription "Our Fountainhead."

Over the years, Dr. Tiller served as a team doctor for the Wichita Wings, medical director of Women's Alcohol Treatment Services at the Sedgwick County Health Department and president of the medical staff at Wesley Medical Center.

The National Abortion Federation honored him with its highest award, the Christopher Tietze Humanitarian Award, and the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights gave him its Faith and Freedom Award.

Dr. Tiller also taught and presented dozens of lectures about abortion -- from those with a medical focus to presentations about the gripping emotional side.

Dr. Tiller had stopped doing media interviews in recent years. He made sizeable campaign contributions to those who supported his work - contributions that became as controversial as the service he provided.

His political donations to former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius were a sticking point in her appointment as President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Family and patients

When the lobbying group, ProKanDo, asked Miriam Kleiman to come to Kansas to speak to legislators about abortion, she agreed on one condition: That she finally get to meet Dr. Tiller.

He had changed her life, she said.

Kleiman, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, fought back tears Sunday as she talked about meeting Dr. Tiller, whose Wichita clinic she turned to when she learned in 2000 while in her 28th week of pregnancy that her baby was malformed and that he would die before birth or shortly after.

Kleiman and her husband, Jason Steinbaum, chose to terminate the pregnancy of their first child. They have since had two healthy sons, whose pictures Kleiman sent Dr. Tiller over the years.

Dr. Tiller and Kleiman hugged when they met a few years ago.

"It was extremely emotional and extremely personal," Kleiman said Sunday. "To finally be able to meet the person who changed our lives and thank him was just incredible."

His clinic, she said, allowed her baby to die "with dignity."

His family and patients always came first, said Peter Brownlie, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

"He was a great person," Brownlie said. "He was both passionate and compassionate."

He managed to have a great sense of humor and remained positive despite constant conflict about his work.

Bowman worked for Dr. Tiller for about a decade, beginning in 1989.

She had been executive director of Planned Parenthood in Wichita and called him one day "and told him that I was thinking about leaving that position and asked him to call me if he heard of anything that he thought might interest me. He called me back in about 30 seconds and said, 'I've always thought you should be working for me.' That's how it happened."

Dr. Tiller served women from all over the world, Bowman said.

He was close to his family, always supported by his wife, Jeanne, Bowman and Brownlie said. His community at church, where he was serving as an usher Sunday, was "very important to him," Brownlie said.

A clinic employee said Sunday that her heart went out to his family.

"He was a great man," said the medical assistant, who did not want to be named out of concern for her safety. "It isn't for any of us walking around earth to pass judgment."

Sally Burgess, chairwoman of the board of the National Abortion Federation and executive director of the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, Ill., said Dr. Tiller was "absolutely one of the most generous people of his time and of his resources that I have ever met."

"He was fun, he was funny, he was humble," she said. "He had such respect for the patients he served and the staff he worked with. He was just truly one of kind."

Bowman said she and Dr. Tiller would touch base a few times a year.

"But I'm not sure I had talked to him this year," she said, "and I hate that."

Like others, Bowman said Dr. Tiller wouldn't give up on what he believed was a woman's right to choose.

"It would have been so easy for him to have turned his back and said, 'This is more than any human being can take,' " she said. "He wouldn't do that."

http://www.kansascity.com/657/story/1226353-p2.html

It doesn't mention it here, but he was so devoted to his patients that, after the first time he was shot, he still didn't miss an appointment.

[Gracie]

A third thread on the same subject is a bit much, don't you think?

I mean, it is not as if WWIV has broken out.

[Alonzo]

I think this is sufficiently different from a thread announcing his death. It's giving info about what kind of person he was.

[IndieVisible]

And may I be the first to spit on his grave then?

[Si modo]

I wonder if Fred Phelps will go to this funeral?

[Drocket]

It doesn't mention it here, but he was so devoted to his patients that, after the first time he was shot, he still didn't miss an appointment.

That's only because he enjoyed murdering babies so much.

*rolls eyes*

[bla bla]

http://www.kansascity.com/657/story/1226353-p2.html

It doesn't mention it here, but he was so devoted to his patients that, after the first time he was shot, he still didn't miss an appointment.

So is the Saint of carving babies out of women?

Will the Left venerate tiny plastic idealized statues of him on their dashboards?

[Alonzo]

Will the Left venerate tiny plastic idealized statues of him on their dashboards?

Why, so some radical pro-lifer can use my car as target practice?

[bla bla]

Why, so some radical pro-lifer can use my car as target practice?

Yea, because that happens all the time.

Those people on the Right their all nothing but dangerous animals ready to
lash out in ignorance induced rage at any moment.

[Lance]

And the adoration of the left for baby butchers continues...

[Truth_and_Power]

And may I be the first to spit on his grave then?

Be sure to take your cell phone with you so you can ask for forgiveness before driving away from the site. God forbid you should get hit by a car before you have a chance to expend another of the unlimited supply of christian take-backs you get.

[ptif219]

Every pro-life group has denounced the killing yet the pro-abortion crowd is still blaming them. This guy was a extremist and not all there.

[NIOSA]

Did Tiller remain comitted to his patients or to the millions of $$$$$ their "business: brought him?

[piratemonkey]

Every pro-life group has denounced the killing yet the pro-abortion crowd is still blaming them. This guy was a extremist and not all there.

Not true. I just saw the spokesman for Operation Rescue do an interview.

He in no way/shape/form denounced the killing. He exalted it.

[piratemonkey]

Did Tiller remain comitted to his patients or to the millions of $$$$$ their "business: brought him?

This post shows ignorance of how much MD's in family planning make.

[Buck Laser]

I wonder if Fred Phelps will go to this funeral?

Phelps's only cause is homosexuality. He won't show.

[Red Eft]

And the adoration of the left for baby butchers continues...

Get real. It's not adoration and you know it. Not everyone shares the same belief as you that life begins at conception. Prove it and then you might have a point, otherwise it is just your opinion, and I don't appreciate being told I adore baby butchers. It's ludicrous, crass and asinine.

[nevadamedic]

http://www.kansascity.com/657/story/1226353-p2.html

It doesn't mention it here, but he was so devoted to his patients that, after the first time he was shot, he still didn't miss an appointment.

Actually I think the correct term is assasinated.

[Alonzo]

Actually I think the correct term is assasinated.

Huh? You realize he was shot before and didn't die, right?

[NIOSA]

This post shows ignorance of how much MD's in family planning make.

Family planning? You've got to be kidding!! Now if you want to talk about ignorance....
What planning did Tiller do in killing unborn babies, other than making sure his instruments of deatyh were sterelized. :rolleyes: ?
Do you have any idea how many babies he aborted, or how much he charged for his evil deeds?

[nevadamedic]

Huh? You realize he was shot before and didn't die, right?

The guy died. It was an assasination pure and simple. Otherwise it would be an atempted assasination.

[Alonzo]

The guy died. It was an assasination pure and simple. Otherwise it would be an atempted assasination.

The first time he was shot he did not die, which was clearly what I was talking about as I said he didn't miss an appointment.

[nevadamedic]

The first time he was shot he did not die, which was clearly what I was talking about as I said he didn't miss an appointment.

That was an attempted assasination.

[bla bla]

The first time he was shot he did not die, which was clearly what I was talking about as I said he didn't miss an appointment.

Got to kill them babies.

[Jojo]

Got to kill them babies.

May you never be told your unborn child has Tay Sachs, or such severe malformations that they aren't viable.

[bla bla]

May you never be told your unborn child has Tay Sachs, or such severe malformations that they aren't viable.

Is that the only kind of late term abortion done?

[Lance]

May you never be told your unborn child has Tay Sachs, or such severe malformations that they aren't viable.What is the frequency of this occurring annually in the United States? It is my understanding that parents that are Tay Sachs carriers can be identified and that it takes two TS parents in order to create a TS child and then only 25% of the time. Also, I found nothing that suggested Tay Sachs could be diagnosed in the womb. I admit that I didn't look that hard simply because your statement is incredibly asinine when compared with the fact that this one doctor murdered over 60000 babies in late term.

[Jaaaman]

May you never be told your unborn child has Tay Sachs, or such severe malformations that they aren't viable.

The liberal mindset indeed defies logic. :embarrased:

[suedanim]

Is that the only kind of late term abortion done?

No. Late term abortions are rare. Its usually a set of complications. In one woman's story, she was bleeding profusely, had toxemia and the fetus had a high spina bifida in which the brain was outside the skull. Zero chance for the fetus to survice, near zero for the Mom if something wasn't done quiickly. In other cases, the fetus has anencephaly.. or the Mom has hydatiform mole which can become malignant and no fetus is found at all. IN that case, the pregnancy has to be terminated immediately.

There are a wide range of scenario's, most often involving the life of the mother. In others of course, it involves the condition of the fetus, for instance anencephaly or a trisomy 13 or 18 in which the newborn cannot survive for long or in which the infant will suffer greatly after birth. Some parents choose abortion as a lesser of two evils. Even then, they suffer emotionally, sometimes never recovering from the loss.

Heart conditions can often be corrected since the technology to do so has advanced. But there just are catastrophic issues with either or both Mom and fetus, in which a decision has to be made to spare the life of the Mother.

I oppose selective late term abortion for all the obvious reasons, pro-choice otherwise. But, my understanding is that a healthy woman, pregnant with a healthy, viable infant seeking a late term abortion ( I am talking about third trimester or late second trimester), rarely occurs. And I think thats what everyone imagines, thanks to the PR campaign the right has pushed for decades.

[Gracie]

No. Late term abortions are rare. Its usually a set of complications. In one woman's story, she was bleeding profusely, had toxemia and the fetus had a high spina bifida in which the brain was outside the skull. Zero chance for the fetus to survice, near zero for the Mom if something wasn't done quiickly. In other cases, the fetus has anencephaly.. or the Mom has hydatiform mole which can become malignant and no fetus is found at all. IN that case, the pregnancy has to be terminated immediately.

There are a wide range of scenario's, most often involving the life of the mother. In others of course, it involves the condition of the fetus, for instance anencephaly or a trisomy 13 or 18 in which the newborn cannot survive for long or in which the infant will suffer greatly after birth. Some parents choose abortion as a lesser of two evils. Even then, they suffer emotionally, sometimes never recovering from the loss.

Heart conditions can often be corrected since the technology to do so has advanced. But there just are catastrophic issues with either or both Mom and fetus, in which a decision has to be made to spare the life of the Mother.

I oppose selective late term abortion for all the obvious reasons, pro-choice otherwise. But, my understanding is that a healthy woman, pregnant with a healthy, viable infant seeking a late term abortion ( I am talking about third trimester or late second trimester), rarely occurs. And I think thats what everyone imagines, thanks to the PR campaign the right has pushed for decades.

I don't buy that. Otherwise, what would be the need for this abortion mill where people come from all over? In cases such as you describe the procedure would be done in a local hospital, perhaps by c-section. Tilly's clinic, (evidently he had other doctors working there, quite the grisley entrepreneur, late term abortions were obviously done for frivilous reasons or worse yet to cover up child rape.

[Phyxius]

The liberal mindset indeed defies logic. :embarrased:

The conservative mindset indeed defies reason (and, in this case the law of the land)... :embarrased:

[brien]

http://www.kansascity.com/657/story/1226353-p2.html

It doesn't mention it here, but he was so devoted to his patients that, after the first time he was shot, he still didn't miss an appointment.

So, in some people's eyes, I guess he is a hero and a martyr.

[brien]

Every pro-life group has denounced the killing yet the pro-abortion crowd is still blaming them. This guy was a extremist and not all there.

Read the article below that aptly places these people you allude to in their rightful hypocritical position:

http://www.regularfolksunited.com/index.php?tab=article_view&article_id=1724

By now, we have all heard that Dr. George Tiller, one of only two doctors in the U.S. who perform late term abortions, was slain by an extremist. For some reason, the media and pro-abortion forces have decided to characterize this one loon as representing the entire anti-abortion movement while also arguing that it is the evil of religion that turned this otherwise sane, peace-loving person into a snarling, foaming-at-the-mouth terrorist.



I want to start by outlining a few points to give proper perspective and full disclosure. Firstly, I believe abortion is the taking of a preborn baby’s life, and a denial of that preborn person’s most basic, unalienable right to life. Second, I believe that abortion is not a root problem in itself; rather, it is a symptom; a manifestation of other causes. Chief among those causes is that we as a nation have turned away from the value of life, and need to re-embrace the intrinsic value life carries. We must show people that preborn babies are just as entitled to life as those of us who were fortunate enough to survive the womb. Third, abortion is, at this time, legal, and that is not going to change anytime soon – and certainly not without addressing point two above. Thus, killing someone for engaging in explicitly legal behavior, no matter how reprehensible, is simply not acceptable in any form, and the murderer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.



Having said that, those on the left who are using this incident to smear the entirety of the pro-life/anti-abortion movement and religious people in general are truly despicable, and are guilty of the worst hypocrisy imaginable. For example, we are told by the left repeatedly that we cannot blame all Muslims for the actions of a few extremists. We are warned that we cannot profile people based on their religion and assume that Muslims are more likely to be terrorists than anyone else (newsflash: They are!). Even at airports in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, we must pull random people out for searches before they enter the gate. Middle Eastern Muslim men (coincidentally, the description fitting 100% of the 9-11 hijackers) and 90 year-old grannies must be treated as if they equally likely to create a “man caused disaster. Somehow, though, when an abortion doctor is murdered, that all goes out the window, and it is indicative of how evil and destructive ALL pro-lifers are. Our own President will not allow his administration to use the word “terrorist” to describe the Middle Eastern Muslims who plot “man caused disasters” against us, but the left has no problem using the term for the suspect in this case.


Another canard of the left is the need to understand terrorists and criminals. The reasoning is that people who engage in acts of terror or commit criminal acts such as rape and murder must have reasons for doing so. The hope is that by understanding them, we can alleviate the symptoms that cause them to act out in such violent ways. In the years following 9-11 we heard ad nauseum from leftists that we needed to learn why the terrorists hate us, and stop doing it. We were told that it was our own policies causing the issues, and we needed to reexamine those policies. Well, in this case, it seems the left has no interest in exploring the background of the Tiller killer, they only want to attack, attack and attack both him and religious, pro-life people in general. If we apply the logic of the left here, we should not only try to understand why the Tiller killer went off, but also what policies we are engaging in that could lead to such incidents. In this case, that would be exceedingly easy, since all we would need to do is review and end one policy – abortion. Problem solved!


Perhaps the most disgusting attack I have seen from the left over this came from Deborah King in the Huffington Post. While she is not the only voice expressing these sentiments, she certainly is a prolific one. She asserts that no one should be “shocked” by this murder because “Anyone who is shocked is not paying attention to the cause of this violent anti-abortion crusade: religion.” She adds that “This murder--unless the motive is unrelated to the nature of Dr. Tiller's work which is highly unlikely--is exactly what religious opponents of abortion have preached and practiced.” So according to Ms. King, Christianity is a religion of evil which encourages its people to break the law and commit murder in cold blood. In Ms. King’s worldview, Christianity is an abomination because it promotes the wicked idea that life begins at conception and is sacred; which then causes people to become so upset and filled with rage over abortion that they instantly go out and find the nearest abortion provider and kill him.


Ms. King also takes the opportunity to single out Bill O’Reilly in this case as “…practically pre-approving any action to stop what O'Reilly wrongly calls ‘murder.”’ Well then, let’s turn the tables here, and apply King’s arguments to what she wrote. If religion and Bill O’Reilly are guilty of inciting people to kill abortionists, then we need to hold Ms. King similarly accountable if anyone kills someone for their pro-life or Christian beliefs. After all, Ms. King is basically accusing pro-lifers of being mass murderers, and thus practically pre-approving any action to stop pro-lifers and Christians. Not to mention the fact that Ms. King is spewing the very kind of hate against pro-lifers and Christians that she denounces those groups for.


Looking deeper, her arguments are vapid as well as hateful. If the Christian religion and pro-lifers really promoted and encouraged this sort of behavior, why is Tiller’s case so rare? Why have there been so few abortionists slain by overzealous ‘lifers? If these people feel it is justifiable to take life to stop abortion, and they are constantly being goaded into it, why have there only been a handful of such slayings since the Roe decision? To date, four, and only four, abortion doctors have been slain in violence directed against abortion providers. Additionally, a total of eight people overall have been killed in such acts. The most recent one took place more than a decade ago, in 1998. These facts do not indicate what the left is trying to convince us of, and we must not let them get away with lying about it. There is simply no truth to the idea that this is a widespread problem or that it is in any way indicative of the mainstream pro-life movement or Christianity in general.


But liberals never let facts get in the way; that is why we must be the bearers of truth and shoot down the liberal lies that are coming. They are already using and will continue to use this incident as political fodder. They will hype this tragedy up and say we need stricter laws to protect abortionists from evil pro-lifers. They will work to prevent pro-lifers from exercising their right to peaceable assembly and they will try to silence the pro-life voice under the guise of safety and security. They might use this tragedy to promote the need for other regulations as well, such as harsher gun control measures. The reality is that this is an anomaly. The idea of taking the life of a person engaged in legal activity is an anathema to all those who truly believe in the sanctity of life. And this characterizes the overwhelming majority of Christians and pro-lifers. So while this is an evil act, deserving of full punishment under the law, this is NOT what being religious or being pro-life is about. We know truth and we cannot allow the left to define us as something we are not with their lies.

[Alonzo]

May you never be told your unborn child has Tay Sachs, or such severe malformations that they aren't viable.
The liberal mindset indeed defies logic. :embarrased:

Ummm........ if he said "I hope your child gets Tay Sachs", would that have been better?

[Professor]

May he RIP. He was a good man who preformed a necessary service. Yes, a necessary service. He was the one providing the abortions, it was 60,000 families who decided this was a necessity.

Don't bother hating the abortionist when they wouldn't be in business if not for the ones needing the abortions.

[Jaaaman]

May he RIP. He was a good man who preformed a necessary service. Yes, a necessary service. He was the one providing the abortions, it was 60,000 families who decided this was a necessity.



Good man? No, he was not a good man - he was a butcherer. That being said, two wrongs don't equal a right. Eye for an eye is not the way to go.

I seriously doubt the good doctor is resting in peace... there are special places for people like him. :sadly:

[Boots]

May he RIP. He was a good man who preformed a necessary service. Yes, a necessary service. He was the one providing the abortions, it was 60,000 families who decided this was a necessity.

Don't bother hating the abortionist when they wouldn't be in business if not for the ones needing the abortions.

I guess that's kind of like the Drug Kingpins, then.

[Professor]

Good man? No, he was not a good man - he was a butcherer. That being said, two wrongs don't equal a right. Eye for an eye is not the way to go.

I seriously doubt the good doctor is resting in peace... there are special places for people like him. :sadly:

I doubt he went to hell. Doesn't the Bible say if he was baptized and repented his sins he will go to heaven? Seeing as the man was shot in a church where he was a member of the congregation, I would say he was a Christian. If I was a Christian I would say he went to heaven.

I think he was a good man, he saw a service that needed to be preformed and he took up the cross and gave the people what they needed, even though some of those very same people would hate him for it.

[I Like Beer]

Yea, because that happens all the time.

Those people on the Right their all nothing but dangerous animals ready to
lash out in ignorance induced rage at any moment.

Well, if the shoe fits. :)

[Jojo]

Is that the only kind of late term abortion done?

You can't have an elective late term abortion - it's against federal law. Third trimester abortion is for babies who are dead or will die, or to save the life or health of the mother.

[Jojo]

The liberal mindset indeed defies logic. :embarrased:

No, an old friend of mine had a son with Tay Sachs - it is 100% fatal.

[Jojo]

What is the frequency of this occurring annually in the United States? It is my understanding that parents that are Tay Sachs carriers can be identified and that it takes two TS parents in order to create a TS child and then only 25% of the time. Also, I found nothing that suggested Tay Sachs could be diagnosed in the womb. I admit that I didn't look that hard simply because your statement is incredibly asinine when compared with the fact that this one doctor murdered over 60000 babies in late term.

Please give a reasonable link for that information. Late term abortions are always for medical reasons, and are .08% of all abortion in the US.

Yeah, it's rare - but there is genetic counseling and amniocentesis, and she would abort if she needs to, to not endure that pain again.

[Jojo]

I don't buy that. Otherwise, what would be the need for this abortion mill where people come from all over? In cases such as you describe the procedure would be done in a local hospital, perhaps by c-section. Tilly's clinic, (evidently he had other doctors working there, quite the grisley entrepreneur, late term abortions were obviously done for frivilous reasons or worse yet to cover up child rape.

Because the perception is so completely different from the reality, doctors who provide medically necessary care in cases like these are demonized, and sometime murdered. It's a hate crime - committed to discourage others from providing a medically necessary and legal procedure. As it is, only a handful of doctors in the country will provide the procedure. Then they live under federal protection.

[Jojo]

Every pro-life group has denounced the killing yet the pro-abortion crowd is still blaming them. This guy was a extremist and not all there.

No - he was all there - no history of mental illness - member of a militia - had a record for owning illegal bomb making materials - a member of the American Taliban.

Oh, and there is massive right wing rejoicing - you must not visit the right blogs and sites.

[Professor]

Because the perception is so completely different from the reality, doctors who provide medically necessary care in cases like these are demonized, and sometime murdered. It's a hate crime - committed to discourage others from providing a medically necessary and legal procedure. As it is, only a handful of doctors in the country will provide the procedure. Then they live under federal protection.

Federal protection? Like witness protection or their livelihood is protected?

[Si modo]

No - he was all there - [B]no history of mental illness ....His familiy says otherwise.

Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5423829/Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html)

[Professor]

His familiy says otherwise.

Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5423829/Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html)

But was it diagnosed or is it something the family suspected?

[Si modo]

But was it diagnosed or is it something the family suspected?
You know as much as I do - his family says there was a history.

So, I can't say there was no history, but I can say his family says otherwise.

[Jojo]

His familiy says otherwise.

Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5423829/Suspect-in-abortion-doctor-killing-had-history-of-mental-illness.html)

I'll be interested in finding out more. He has 'suffered from mental illness a few times in his life" could mean a lot of things - mild depression, even homosexual urges in that milieu. I'd like a diagnosis - schizophrenia, paranoia, OCD, (Sounds like it could be all 3) and some records on how and when he was treated.

It does make me feel for his family - the mental health system for too many adults is nonexistent.