After the murder of Dr. George Tiller, I re-read THIS COMMON SECRET, abortion doctor Susan Wicklund’s memoir. Wicklund herself had an abortion as a college student prior to Roe v. Wade and this experience contributed to her decision to focus on women's health issues as a medical student and (against the advice of family and friends) to receive training qualifying her to perform the controversial procedure. Wicklund describes the daily verbal—and sometimes physical—assaults she receives from anti-abortion protesters who stalk her family and defame her publicly. She wears a bullet-proof vest to work, takes a different route every day and sometimes uses a decoy car to throw the protesters off her trail. This story of the abortion wars is as much about the brave women who travel hundreds of miles for an appointment with an extremely difficult decision as the brave doctor they seek out.
