Wichita — A federal judge has refused to block the seating of a Kansas grand jury sought by abortion opponents to look into whether Dr. George Tiller broke state law on late-term abortions.
"Frankly, I'm reluctant to jump into the middle of something that is essentially a state matter," U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said Tuesday. "The odds that any appellate court would uphold any injunction in this case would be pretty remote."
Marten said that while Tiller's lawyers made a strong case, he did not believe he should take the rare step of issuing orders to a state court. He suggested the Wichita doctor instead refile in state court.
Tillers' lawyers plan to do just that, attorney Lee Thompson said Wednesday.
"We are grateful for his encouragement that these issues would be just as likely to be sustained by a state court," Thompson said, adding that the court recognized that there were some substantial issues presented.
Thompson also said Tiller's attorneys have not yet decided whether they will continue to pursue the federal case.
In seeking the investigation of Tiller, abortion foes used a 1970 state law that allows the public to petition for a grand jury. Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale said petitioners had gathered more than twice the number of signatures of registered voters required to compel the local court to form the grand jury. He certified the petition Tuesday.
It's the second time in less than 18 months that abortion opponents have petitioned for a grand jury to investigate Tiller. Last year, they succeeded in convening one to review the death of a Texas woman who had had an abortion at Tiller's clinic, but no indictment was returned.
Tiller's attorneys had sought a temporary restraining order to prohibit Gale and Sedgwick County Administrative Judge Michael Corrigan from seating another grand jury.
They argued that another grand jury probe would be "unfair, harassing and bad faith."
They also noted that Tiller has been investigated repeatedly in the past year. He currently is charged with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly failing to get an independent second opinion on some late-term abortions, as required by state law. A previous case alleging Tiller didn't have the medical reasons necessary to justify late-term abortions was dismissed for jurisdictional reasons in December.
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SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
Whoo hoo!
SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
It's a small victory against a disgusting man.
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
I'm sure STRS has spent a fortune helping to raise the millions of unwanted children in the U.S. Yeah, right.
SettingTheRecordStraight (anonymous) says…
Confrontation,
You know nothing about what I do to help others.
Crispian (Crispian Paul) says…
OK, again, lest it be forgotten, until and unless Tiller is found guilty of violating some law or another, the man is A) innocent and B) doing his job, whether or not you agree with what he does to make that living.
75x55 (anonymous) says…
bummer.
guess he'll have to pull out the 'favors book' now...
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
SettingTheRecordStraight (Anonymous) says:
"You know nothing about what I do to help others."
Well, unless you're providing for the millions of unwanted and uncared for children, then you have no right to decide the fate of fetuses.
Confrontation (anonymous) says…
"There are no unwanted babies."
This is absolutely false. Perhaps there are no unwanted white babies that are born to healthy mothers. Look at all the undernourished children living in poverty and facing horrible situations every day. Where were you when they were born? Did you volunteer to pay for all the bills and make sure all these children were cared for? No. You demanded that the mothers have the babies, and then, like all pro-lifers, you said, "Cut welfare! Cut taxes! We don't need to take care of anyone else's children. You shouldn't have had 'em if you can't afford 'em!"
BrianR (anonymous) says…
Parkay, What color is the sky in your world? Almost nothing that you believe is true, that must be awful for you.
thebigspoon (anonymous) says…
It' so easy to be cruel to those of you who harbor such delusional ideas as "there are no unwanted babies" because you are the people who give no thought to your statements other than your visceral reactionism to what we all wish didn'have to happen. But, it does, and, in many cases, for very good reasons. I don't like the fact that we have cold, wet, nasty weather, either, but I don't have the temeerity to judge God for creating such a thing. We, as human beings, were given the great gift of self-determination and use it, whether to good or bad, but we, in the long run, have determined the way we want to live and have laws, rules, and mores to govern ourselves. To say that someone can no longer have control over her own body, life, and health is entirely unrealistic and selfish. Get a grip, people, and try understanding life as it really is, not as you would dictate it to everyone else. Your destiny is your own and not that of every other individual in the world.
Godot (anonymous) says…
If Tiller is innocent, he has nothing to fear. He should welcome this opportunity to clear his name.
Godot (anonymous) says…
There are no unwanted children. People all over the world are seeking a child, any child, to love and nurture.
thebigspoon (anonymous) says…
Good God, godot, do you also belong th the Flat Earth Society?
thebigspoon (anonymous) says…
Ditto, parkay.