Kansas Judge Dismisses Charges Filed By AG Kline Against Physician Tiller For Allegedly Performing Illegal Late-Term Abortions

Sedgwick County, Kan., District Judge Paul Clark on Wednesday ruled against reinstating criminal charges filed last month by state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) against physician George Tiller for allegedly performing illegal late-term abortions on women, the AP/Washington Post reports. 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 (Hanna, AP/Washington Post, 12/28/06). Kline asked Clark to reconsider his ruling, and, after reviewing the arguments again, the judge announced at a hearing Wednesday that he is upholding his previous decision, the Los Angeles Times reports (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 12/28/06).

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State Attorney General-elect Paul Morrison (D), who defeated Kline in the November 2006 election, after the hearing Wednesday in a statement said he would review the evidence thoroughly, adding, "Kansans expect more from their attorney general than grandstanding and political stunts." He also said he plans to "refocus the vast resources of the attorney general's office" (Los Angeles Times, 12/28/06). Morrison would not rule out assigning a special prosecutor to the case, but he said that if he did the person "certainly" would not be McKinney, who Kline recently appointed to the case. "He is extraordinarily political and, in my opinion, would absolutely not present any kind of independent perspective," Morrison said (AP/USA Today, 12/28/06). McKinney declined to respond to Morrison's comments but said that the state has enacted laws to "protect babies that are about to be born" and that "those laws need to be enforced and not winked at" (Hanna, AP/International Herald Tribune, 12/28/06). Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston (D) has asked Kline to give her office his evidence against Tiller so that she can decide whether to file charges, but Kline has said repeatedly that he intends to continue the investigation from the attorney general's office. "The investigation ... is ongoing," Kline said Wednesday (Los Angeles Times, 12/28/06). Meanwhile, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) on Thursday criticized Kline for his actions against Tiller, the AP/Wichita Eagle reports. "It is not appropriate, to me, to have an attorney general who isn't following Kansas law," Sebelius said (Hanna, AP/Wichita Eagle, 12/29/06).

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