An Abortion Doctor Speaks Out About a Woman’s Right to Choose
Susan Robinson was sitting on the patio of her Central Coast home, above golden hills and oak trees shimmering in the summer heat. She sipped homemade hibiscus tea as she patted the head of her mischievous border collie, Radar, and told me about the pride she takes in her work.
Robinson, 69, is an abortion doctor, one of only a handful in this country who perform abortions in the third trimester. She is in the business of ending pregnancies, yes, but more important, she is in the business of helping women assert control over their own lives.
“There is no other field in medicine where people come to you so desperate,” she said, “and you can really help pretty much everyone who walks through the door.”
Robinson used to fly to Wichita, Kan., every three weeks to work at a clinic owned by George Tiller, perhaps the country’s most famous late-term abortion doctor. Tiller was renowned for his kindness toward patients and his courage in the face of relentless physical attacks against him that culminated in 2009 with his murder by a Christian extremist.
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As she did frequently during our conversation, Robinson recalled one of Tiller’s many mantras: “Women are spiritually, emotionally and intellectually capable of struggling with complex ethical issues and arriving at the correct decision for themselves and their families.”
Is there a single Republican running for president who could say that and mean it?
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