Sedgwick County DA refers abortion case to Morrison / LJWorld.com

Archive for Tuesday, January 23, 2007

By Roxana Hegeman - Associated Press Writer

January 23, 2007

Wichita — Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston punted the investigation of a nationally known abortion provider to the state's top prosecutor, telling protesters Monday that Attorney General Paul Morrison will decide whether there is evidence sufficient to warrant review by her own office.

Shortly before leaving office, former Attorney General Phill Kline, a Republican and vocal abortion opponent, filed 30 misdemeanor criminal charges against Dr. George Tiller in Sedgwick County District Court. But a judge dismissed the charges at Foulston's request, agreeing with her that Kansas law required Kline to obtain her consent to file a criminal case and that he didn't.

In a letter delivered to leaders of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue as they picketed Monday outside the county courthouse, Foulston said she now plans to wait until Morrison, a Democrat and abortion-rights supporter, reviews the case before she decides whether she will look at it.

'Due process violation'

Foulston, a Democrat, also attacked Kline, saying her office requested in writing and in court all the underlying information that formed the basis for him to file charges.

"As attorney general, he failed, refused and neglected to do so," Foulston wrote. "If there is any due process violation, it would lie with Kline's refusal to forward to the proper prosecution authority in this jurisdiction, the office of the district attorney, the evidence that would be relevant to our review of the matter."

Kline, who lost the November election to Morrison and is now the district attorney in Johnson County, did not immediately return a phone call for comment.

Morrison spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said the attorney general's office was reviewing the case and had not yet decided how to proceed.

Letter to protesters

About 50 protesters gathered Monday outside the courthouse to call for Foulston to continue with the case against Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country who performs late-term abortions. In her letter, Foulston said she would not meet with the protesters, and several who went into her office were turned away.

The letter also warned that any attempt to influence her office and interfere with the administration of justice was criminal conduct.

"This is ridiculous," Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said as he read her letter to his supporters.

Kline alleged Tiller performed 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003, for patients aged 10 to 22, and failed to properly report details about them to state health officials. Tiller's attorneys have called the allegations groundless.

Abortion protesters contend Kline's thwarted charges reveal violations of Kansas law, which restricts abortions after the 22nd week of pregnancy to cases in which the mother faces substantial and permanent health problems, unless it is determined the fetus is not viable. The state also requires a second physician not financially linked to the abortion provider to sign off.

Fewer than 100 abortion protesters heeded Operation Rescue's nationwide call to come to Wichita for a four-day event marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

In Topeka, however, hundreds of abortion opponents crowded into the Statehouse's second-floor rotunda Monday for a rally marking the Roe anniversary.

The rally came after a half-dozen women who had abortions spoke during a news conference sponsored by the anti-abortion group Operation Outcry.

Discussion

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23 January 2007
at 6:51 a.m.

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Ragingbear (Anonymous) says…

Whether or not illegal abortions were going on is now the point, instead of somebody's private crusade while frothing at the mouth like a rabid badger. This is probably not over, but it is being done properly now. Perhaps if Kline had gone through the proper channels himself, instead of making his own laws, then this entire Tiller thing would have been completely resolved by this point.

However. If it is determined that the charges are baseless against Tiller after all this time, then Tiller will have one doozie of a lawsuit against the Attourney General's office. Which basically means that he can rake in enough to retire. Well, that would put him out of business as well. Good going Kansas. You managed to do something idiotic.
23 January 2007
at 2:32 p.m.

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nycqueen (Anonymous) says…

It is really sad that this “issue” is even being debated. The former AG Kline stepped up for the justice of innocent preborn children (babies, humans) and WOMEN - Thank God. The “issue” of abortion will never be completely over until people wake up and face the fact that it is wrong to KILL on any level - including war. The only “people” that don't want abortion to end are the ones who are profitting from it. That's the bottom line folks… blood money!
24 January 2007
at 12:27 a.m.

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deec (Anonymous) says…

Evidence?
25 January 2007
at 10:37 p.m.

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Lifesupport (Anonymous) says…

I read that Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston is a personal friend of Dr. Tiller's. Obviously, she cannot be objective about filing charges against him or prosecuting the case. She apparently lied about Phil Kline not consulting her beforehand because he has three witnesses to support the claim that he did. Furthermore, she kept him unaware of her motion to dismiss, so he could not argue it in court. How is Paul Morrison going to fairly review the evidence when he received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Tiller?

The evidence against Dr. Tiller is that the majority of abortions were performed on viable babies between 25 and 28 weeks of pregnancy and two at the 31 week mark. Most of the charges also involve underage girls. His diagnosis for performing these late term abortions was “stress” or “depression” - very treatable conditions without abortion and probably more damaging after an abortion. No indications of physical health problems in the mother or child were recorded.

A major study validates what pro-lifers have been saying all along about post-abortion reactions. “An article on abortion trauma in January's Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry shows that even women without past mental health problems are at risk for depression, suicide or drug addiction after an abortion. The study, “Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health,” found women who had abortions had twice the level of mental health problems and three times the risk of major depressive illness as those who had given birth or had never been pregnant.”

I say keep up the pressure and the protests until we see justice for Dr. Tiller's victims.