The debate on abortion has long been a heated one, with strong opinions on both sides and far-reaching ethical implications. However, this debate resulted in tragedy today as a prominent abortion doctor was shot and killed at his church in Kansas.

Dr. George Tiller, 67, was serving as an usher at Reformation Lutheran Church when he was shot and killed this morning, according to the Associated Press. A suspect was later detained; this man has been identified as Scott Roeder, who has a criminal record and who has expressed strong anti-abortion views in the past. So far, he has not been charged with the murder, and it is expected that he will be taken to Wichita for questioning.

Dr. Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services is known as one of only three clinics in the country that performs late-term abortions. He and the clinic have been targets of violence in the past - the clinic was bombed in 1985, and Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms in 1993. Furthermore, the clinic was targeted in recent acts of vandalism, and Dr. Tiller had asked the FBI to investigate recent incidents including damage to security cameras.

Reactions to the murder have been varied among those on both sides of the debate. Some anti-abortion activists have denounced the violent tactics used, while others have called Dr. Tiller a murderer in his own right. Meanwhile, pro-choice activist Nancy Keenan of NARAL Pro-Choice America has spoken out in support of clinics like Dr. Tiller’s in light of this tragic act. However, President Obama summed it up very well: “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

Tonight brings the unfortunate news that actress Natasha Richardson has died suddenly at the age of 45, following a head injury sustained on Monday while skiing in Quebec. The Tony Award-winning actress, whose career spanned decades and both stage and screen, had been on a ski outing at Mount Tremblant Ski Resort with her sons Michael and Daniel when she fell, and while she did not initially appear to be injured, her condition rapidly worsened, and she was soon hospitalized and eventually pronounced brain dead.

Her family has released the following statement, according to CNN:

Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.

She is survived by her husband, actor Liam Neeson, as well as sons Michael and Daniel and her mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave. It is reported via E! Online that her family is planning a small, private funeral. I would like to wish her family the privacy that they need to come to grips with this terribly unexpected tragedy.

Many of us learned back in our school days that the first to retort “Well, you’re fat!” in most any argument has run out of ideas. This lesson appears to be lost on conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, who in a recent radio show went for the cheap shot in disputing political blogger Meghan McCain’s views on the future of the Republican party.

Ms. McCain, pictured above with her father Senator John McCain, recently criticized controversial pundit Ann Coulter for the disservice her radical views have done to public opinion of Republicans and stated that such extremism would dissuade younger voters from associating themselves with the party. In a subsequent radio broadcast, Ms. Ingraham criticized Ms. McCain on rather different grounds, calling her “too plus-sized to be a cast member on the television show The Real World” - and with that, the gloves are off.

In her latest piece, Ms. McCain raises that age-old question - why does image precede message? She cites a certain treatment of women in the media that is often taken as the status quo, where a woman’s appearance is the first order of business, particularly when the aspect of appearance in question is the woman’s weight. Not only has Ms. McCain come under criticism for being “too heavy” at all of a size 8, but her mother, Cindy McCain, has been the target of unkind remarks for her thin frame. What is this elusive “perfect size” that we must aspire to, then? That ideal proportion that won’t distract fickle audiences from our words and ideas? I’d like to think that the size of my brain matters more than the size of my dress, but I’m sure that there are many who would say that it’s all in my head.

Today, President Barack Obama signed an executive order creating a government-wide council designed to address women’s rights - and in doing so, he cited the women and girls close to his heart. According to the Associated Press, the president and his administration created the panel as an effort to mark Women’s History Month, and his roles other than Commander In Chief were not far from his mind. He told all assembled, “I sign this order not just as a president, but as a son, a grandson, a husband and a father because, growing up, I saw my mother put herself through school and follow her passion for helping others.” He also told of his grandmother, who became a bank vice president, despite the gender bias that she faced along the way.

The order was signed with an eye towards the future, as well. The father of 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha cited the hopes and dreams of the younger generation, telling guests, “So now it’s up to us to carry that work forward, to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements — and that they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers never dreamed of.” He also cited First Lady Michelle’s skill at balancing career and family as an inspiration. By creating this council, with senior adviser Valerie Jarrett as its head, our president has made it clear that his administration prioritizes women’s rights, as equality is not only good for women, but for the country as a whole.

Is “I do” always followed by “happily ever after”? Not necessarily, and a new study has found that women in unhappy marriages are at an elevated risk for an assortment of health problems, including high blood pressure and high blood sugar. In CNN’s report on the University of Utah study, it is reported that while men and women in unhappy marriages were found to exhibit signs of depression, only women showed these physical side effects.

The study subjects were 276 couples, ranging in age from 32 to 76. Researchers determined the level of happiness in each marriage by examining levels of conflict and hostility, and each person’s self-report on marital satisfaction (more women reported being unsatisfied than men). This variable was then set against the health of the subjects - indicators of physical and mental health were recorded. According to Nacy Henry of the University of Utah, men were affected mentally by marital strife - she tells CNN, “For husbands, we didn’t see, on its own, that negative marital stuff was related at all to metabolic syndrome. The only thing it was related to was their depressive symptoms.” However, women experienced these symptoms and more - they were more likely to experience metabolic issues and cardiovascular problems in correlation with levels of conflict. It is suggested that women take marital issues to heart, quite literally, because more of their self-image is wrapped up in their relationship, increasing stress levels.

However, the study does not suggest that divorce would reverse these symptoms. Divorce comes with its own set of stressors, and other lifestyle factors need to be taken into account. This study simply brings attention to the role that social factors play in a patient’s physical health - doctors need to treat the whole person, head included.

Safety in our institutions of higher learning has become a hot-button topic lately - too often, the academia is disrupted by tragedy, as the headlines have reflected. This week, according to Mercury News, women at UC Berkeley stood up against a spree of sexual violence on their campus - and the “blame the victim” attitude that many have taken in light of it.

Since October, a sexual predator has attacked 19 women near the UC Berkeley campus, and it appears that women in skirts have been most heavily targeted. For that reason, an email has circulated among students telling women not to wear skirts so as to avoid becoming a target. However, many women on campus have taken offense, stating that attire is no excuse for sexual assault. For that reason, protesters wore skirts as they stood in solidarity to increase awareness about the recent attacks and to call for action to prevent future ones.

During the rally on the university’s Sproul Plaza, speakers argued against the perception that the victims are to blame for their attacks. Dennie Bates, an organizer of the rally, told the crowd, “My skirt is not a legal reason for raping me.” Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that this man has not been caught yet - and many worry that the violence could get worse. The victim of one attack was present at the rally, and she expressed her wish for justice, telling others in attendance, “I hope this man gets caught and this doesn’t happen anymore.” Details on the perpetrator can be found in the original article.

For the past month, it seems like everyone has been talking about Nadya Suleman, the California woman who gave birth to octuplets. She has been the subject of many discussions, ranging from medical ethics to political policy, and her physical resemblance to Angelina Jolie has been fodder for many a wiseacre. So perhaps it was inevitable that eventually Dr. Phil, that noted dispenser of wisdom, would eventually weigh in. And did he ever!

According to a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Phil McGraw spoke with Ms. Suleman, who disclosed her fears for the future of her family. It is well-known that Ms. Suleman, a single mom, relies on government assistance, including food stamps and disability payments, and she revealed that hospital officials expressed concerns about her ability to care for the octuplets, along with her six other children. She now fears that her babies will not be released to her once they are developmentally ready - indeed, Child Protective Services has the authority to place a protective hold on the children if they believe Ms. Suleman to be unfit. They could even be placed in temporary foster care.

So what does Dr. Phil have to say? While he echoes the hospital’s concerns, citing her lack of money, space, and resources, he does not believe that putting the children in foster care is an attractive alternative, as it disrupts the family unit. He told the Times, “You can’t turn your back on the mother without turning your back on 14 innocent children. They didn’t ask for this.”

During the 2008 presidential campaign, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin drew criticism and controversy when it was found out that her teenage daughter Bristol was pregnant, especially in light of the Alaska Governor’s well-publicized views favoring abstinence-only education. More recently, though, Bristol, now 18, has spoken to the media about the birth of her son Tripp - and she faced some tough questions about the media attention that she had to deal with during her pregnancy.

People reports on Bristol’s recent segment on Fox News in which she told Greta Van Susteren about her hope that her experience will serve as a lesson for others - she hopes that teens will wait longer than she did. She told Van Susteren that her situation was not the easiest one to raise a child in: “I hope people learn from my story … It’s so much easier if you’re married, have a house and career.” Nevertheless, she insists that the choice that she made to keep her child was not dictated by her mother’s staunch anti-abortion stance, stating emphatically, “It was my choice to have the baby.”

Her views do differ from her mom’s on the issue of abstinence-only education. While Governor Palin strongly favors teaching abstinence, her daughter feels that this stance is not realistic. Indeed, telling her parents of her own pregnancy was difficult for the teen - she says that the conversation was “harder than labor.” Nevertheless, she enjoys being a mother - she said, “I love it, just seeing him smile and stuff. It’s awesome.” And Tripp’s grandmother made an appearance during the interview as well - of all her family has been through in recent months, she says, “Hey, life happens.”

In building bridges, one must take down a few walls, and as Secreatary of State Hillary Clinton knows, one of the toughest walls to break sown is misconception - so she sought to set one straight. “If you want to know if democracy, Islam, modernity, and women’s rights can coexist, go to Indonesia,” she told other attendees at a dinner during her visit to Indonesia, chronicled in a recent New York Times article. Indonesia holds a special meaning for the current administration - President Obama lived there for part of his childhood. However, the country has also undergone what Mrs. Clinton referred to as a “great transfomation” - after the Asian financial crisis in the late ’90’s, Indonesia has bounced back as a democracy after escaping the autocratic rule of Suharto.

The Obama administration is reaching out to other countries in an effort to establish diplomatic relations, and it seems that Islamic countries are at the top of the list. However, Mrs. Clinton emphasized that this effort is not at the expense of worldwide diplomacy. She said to reporters, “There is no pigeonholing; there is no exclusivity. We are reaching out to the entire world.” Nevertheless, Indonesia does hold special interest for the Obama administration - the country’s counterterrorism efforts, along with environmental factors, give the administration particular motivation to increase relations. The global economic crisis is a factor as well - and as it is a global crisis, the administration is making an effort to guard against protectionism. As the world economy recovers, no nation is an island.

This time of year brings to mind romance, but women can give themselves the biggest Valentine of all by banding together to end domestic violence. On Friday, a bevy of big Hollywood names assembled to mark V-Day, playwright Eve Ensler’s event meant to bring an end to violence against women. The luncheon brought together stars of the screen, including Rosario Dawson (far right), who most recently appeared in Seven Pounds. According to People, Dawson reminded the crowd that violence against women and their families touches those in all walks of life. She said of Jennifer Hudson, who lost three family members in a triple homicide last October, and Rihanna, whose boyfriend Chris Brown is under investigation for domestic violence, that “these women are our sisters.” She also encouraged serious discussion of domestic violence rather than the treatment of the subject as gossip.

The event also featured the reading of accounts of violence against women overseas - in particular, attendees listened to accounts of the rape and mutilation of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Actress Jessica Alba (second from right) read the story of one woman, and found herself brought to tears as she did so. The stories hit close to home for some stars in attendance. South African actress Charlize Theron (not pictured) recalled similar occurrences in her home country - the Oscar winner said, “I was born and raised in a country with similar turmoil. People want to help, but don’t know how.” Hopefully, efforts like V-Day will bring violence against women closer to an end.