Kansas Abortion-Child Rape Case Heads to Court, Kline Attacked

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 2, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Kansas Abortion-Child Rape Case Heads to Court, Kline Attacked Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 2, 2005

Topeka, KS (LifeNews.com) — A lawsuit involving the refusal of abortion businesses to help Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline prosecute possible cases of statutory rape heads to court next week. Kline wants records of young teens who had abortions at two facilities and the businesses filed a lawsuit to stop him acquiring them.

Kline needs the records of 90 women and girls who had abortions to determine if they were victims of statutory rape and to learn whether or not the abortion facilities were performing illegal late-term abortions.

The Comprehensive Health abortion center in Overland Park and the Women’s Health Care abortion business in Wichita filed a suit against Kline to protect the records and oral arguments in the case will be held at the Kansas Supreme Court on Thursday.

Some 29 of the women and girls had abortions at Comprehensive Health, operated by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri while the rest had abortions in Wichita.

Peter Brownlie, president of the Planned Parenthood abortion business, told the Kansas City Star newspaper that he would turn over redacted copies of the medical papers if Kline would be more specific in explaining why he needs them.

“Investigate us, not our patients,” Brownlie said.

Pro-life groups held press conferences Thursday to complain that the two abortion facilities are preventing Kline from doing his job and prosecuting criminals who prey on young women.

Rep. Mary Pilcher Cook, a Republican, accused them of hiding evidence of sexual assault, according to a Star report. She wonders why the abortion businesses did not report the possible rapes to authorities.

“Planned Parenthood makes money from abortions,” Cook said. “For all we know, they could be complicit.”

Meanwhile, the abortion facilities want Kline to be held in contempt of court for alleging violating a gag order and giving interviews. But Kline has said he is doing his job and has not revealed any information about the case that is confidential.

"Child rape is a serious crime, and when a 10-year-old is pregnant, she has been raped under Kansas law," Kline has said. "As the state’s chief law enforcement official, I have a duty to investigate in order to protect Kansas children."

Kansas law requires medical personnel to report suspicions of statutory rape to authorities and bans abortions conducted after 22 weeks of pregnancy unless there is a serious health threat for the mother.

In 2004, 79 girls under the age of 15 had abortions in Kansas.

Last year a Shawnee County judge issued subpoenas for the records, but the abortion businesses have asked the state Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

Related web sites:
Kansans for Life – https://www.kfl.org
Kansas Supreme Court – https://www.kscourts.org
Attorney General’s office – https://www.ksag.org