Archive for Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Legal issues scrutinized at abortion hearing
April 9, 2008
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Topeka — Attorneys for abortion provider Dr. George Tiller on Tuesday told the Kansas Supreme Court that a grand jury probe into Tiller constituted harassment and was having a "chilling effect" on the rights of women seeking abortions.
"All we are asking is that Dr. Tiller receive the protections of the constitution," said Tiller's attorney Lee Thompson.
But attorneys representing the grand jury said the panel should be allowed to continue its investigation, which they said should include reviewing hundreds of medical records of women who sought services at Tiller's clinic in Wichita.
"These records are clearly relevant to that inquiry," said attorney David Cooper, who represents two judges who are supervising the grand jury.
The nearly three-hour hearing before the state Supreme Court prompted scores of questions from the justices and calls from the attorney general's office for better protection of the privacy rights of medical patients. The court took no action and didn't indicate when it would rule.
Anti-abortion groups allege Tiller has been violating state restrictions on late-term abortions. Tiller denies any wrongdoing.
Under Kansas law, abortions of viable fetuses are prohibited after the 22nd week of pregnancy unless necessary to save the mother's life or prevent severe harm to the woman's physical or mental health.
Through a petition drive process available only in Kansas and five other states, anti-abortion groups were able to convene a grand jury in Wichita to investigate their accusations.
That panel has ordered Tiller to provide the medical records of patients who sought late-term abortions between July 1, 2003, and Jan. 18, 2008.
Thompson, one of Tiller's attorneys, said the grand jury investigation represented harassment and bad faith on the part of anti-abortion activists.
Bonnie Scott Stevens, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights based in New York, said production of the medical records to the grand jury could jeopardize the privacy rights of Tiller's patients.
And Michael Leitch, a deputy attorney general, said if the court allows the grand jury to get the records, it should order additional safeguards to ensure that patients cannot be identified and that there is control over where the records end up.
The seven-member court asked numerous questions about the authority of the grand jury and protecting the identities of the women whose records have been subpoenaed.
But at one point, David Lowden, another attorney representing the grand jury presiding judges, said, "There is no blanket privilege to have all identifying information excluded."
That prompted a response from Justice Lee Johnson, who said, "There is no blanket authority for the state to have any information they want."
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- Tiller abortion battle continues today 9 comments / April 8, 2008
- Fearful mothers discuss abortion decisions 67 comments / April 11, 2008
- Abortion records sent to grand jury 7 comments / June 7, 2008
- Judge backs Tiller probe 13 comments / November 20, 2007
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9 April 2008
at 5:45 p.m.
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WHY (Anonymous) says…
parkay As for the “mothers”Is this the right word for someone who has an abortion. Sorry I thought it was strange.
9 April 2008
at 7:31 p.m.
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situveux1 (Anonymous) says…
I find Dr. Tiller hard to believe that patient privacy is the reason for opposing this grand jury when he publicly stated that patient information including name, address and date of procedure could be disclosed to ProKanDo, a political action committee.If patient privacy was important, I don't think this would have ever been the policy of Mr. Tiller.
9 April 2008
at 7:34 p.m.
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beobachter (Anonymous) says…
Actually parkay, a good long stretch in state prison might be a good lesson for you. Maybe then you would slow down on all of the allegations and lies you continually post.
10 April 2008
at 9:30 a.m.
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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…
parkay (Anonymous) says:”As for the mothers, their privacy is protected in redacted records used in criminal investigations…”_____________________________________________So then, why haven't redacted records been requested?One of the “star quarterbacks” of your movement, parkay, has repeatedly attempted to circumvent legal procedure to obtain private patient information.As a reference, I offer this timeline of Kline's procedural maneuvers to get the patient records from abortion clinics. The timeline is available in both PDF and HTML formats:PDF: http://www.ppkm.org/PDFs/kline_case_t… http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:k… the time of this post, I was able to download and open the PDF file—but the HTML link would not load. The HTML link might work later.]Please follow one of the above links and at least glance over the *complete* timeline to get a feel for things. What interests me are the following three dates/events:************************************September 21, 2004At the request of Attorney General Phill Kline, Chief Judge Richard Anderson of the Kansas Third Judicial District issued subpoenas for 90 complete original medical records to Comprehensive Health of PlannedParenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in Overland Park and Women's Healthcare Services in Wichita.December 2, 2004Kline filed his response to the petition for the Kansas Supreme Court Writ of Mandamus, including a full brief in response to the clinics' claims. Kline requests that the Kansas Supreme Court deny the clinics' petition and responds to specific allegations.March 3, 2005Kline filed his response with the Kansas Supreme Court that was virtually identical to the one filed on December 2, 2004, except for redaction in the attached exhibits, removing names to protect identities.************************************question: If Kline is truly concerned about protecting patient identity, sensitive medical information, respecting patient privacy etc. then why did he not ask for redacted records in his initial request on 9/21/04?[more]
10 April 2008
at 9:31 a.m.
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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…
And just a couple of months ago, this very troubling information came to surface:”Tiller's attorneys argued in district court on Friday that removing the names from medical records in an earlier investigation did not stop former state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) from discovering the patients' identities. Laura Shaneyfelt, one of Tiller's lawyers, told Buchanan that Kline had been able to identify patients, even after the state Supreme Court ordered that the names be removed.Shaneyfelt showed a document from the attorney general's office, compiled when Kline held the post, that matched guest registration records at a hotel near Women's Health Care Services with dates and details of abortion records. According to a February 2005 subpoena, Kline's office asked for information and telephone records of guests at the La Quinta Inn who stayed in rooms reserved by Tiller and his employees, as well as addresses and telephone numbers of guests at the hotel who 'received a medical discount.' Kline spokesperson Brian Burgess said that the patients were not identified but did not elaborate, saying that the details of the investigation are still under seal (Wichita Eagle, 2/2).”http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96348.phphttp://thewelltimedperiod.blogspot.com/2008/02/patient-identity-what-phill-kline-wants.htmlDo you think, possibly, that's what made those women so nervous?http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/apr/08/tiller_abortion_battle_continues_today/#c569018I think what this shows is that parkay, SettingTheRecordStraight, Marion, Summers_Eve and all the other extremists are little more than the Keystone Cops of political activism. Like those laughable law enforcers from the early days of film, we see the “pro-life” crackpots shoot themselves in the foot time and time again. Rather than taking a measured, logical, *strategic* approach to the problem, they opt for some rampant, foaming-at-the-mouth brand of shock, awe, and manic drama.Kline, unfortunately, only proves that the real goal of these folks is not to reduce the number of abortions, and “save lives”; rather, they merely want to publicly crucify these women in the court of public opinion. (I have no doubt that if they could get away with *real* crucifixions and burnings, they would engage in such activities with the same glee and ecstasy with which they parade around with pictures of bloody fetuses, and erotic dreams of Nazis and the Holocaust!)Agnostickagnostick@excite.comhttp://www.uscentrist.orghttp://www.americanplan.org