Kansas Supreme Court Dismisses Charges Filed Against Physician Tiller For Allegedly Performing Illegal Late-Term Abortions

The Kansas Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against reinstating criminal charges filed last month by former state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) against physician George Tiller for allegedly performing illegal late-term abortions on women, the Kansas City Star reports (Kansas City Star, 2/14). Kline filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller -- who owns the Wichita, Kan.-based abortion clinic Women's Health Care Services -- for allegedly performing 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003 on patients ages 10 to 22 without properly reporting the details to the state. Kline hired attorney Don McKinney to be special prosecutor in the case. A Sedgwick County, Kan., district judge last month dismissed the charges on a jurisdictional issue at the request Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston (D), and McKinney filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/10). State Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) -- who defeated Kline in the November 2006 election -- fired McKinney last month, and Morrison's office asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss McKinney's appeal (Kansas City Star, 2/14). The court granted the request without offering an explanation for its decision, the AP/Wichita Eagle reports. Kline said Morrison's request was "not a proper action by the state's chief law enforcement officer." Ashley Anstaett, a spokesperson for Morrison's office, said an assistant attorney general appointed by Morrison still is reviewing the evidence in the case, adding, "If we discover evidence of a crime, new charges will be filed." Lee Thompson, a Wichita-based attorney representing Tiller, said, "It's always been our position that Dr. Tiller is absolutely innocent of any criminal charges" (Hanna, AP/Wichita Eagle, 2/14).

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