The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on another pro-abortion judicial nominee President Barack Obama has put forward for a federal appeals court position.
Obama has nominated Steve Six, a pro-abortion former Kansas state attorney general to serve on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, setting up another battle over abortion and a top judicial pick.
Perhaps because of concerns from home-state pro-life groups over Six’s record of supporting the abortion industry, Sen. Pat Roberts and Sen. Jerry Moran, two pro-life Republican senators from Kansas, have not yet taken a position on his nomination. However, they have also not stepped in to stop the nomination from getting to the point of a hearing and vote in the Judiciary Committee.
In October, 2007, District Attorney Phill Kline filed 107 charges including 23 felonies, against the Planned Parenthood abortion business for allegedly violating state law. Kline alleged the abortion business potentially engaged in illegal abortions and violated state record-keeping laws by changing abortion data in an attempt to cover up late abortions done outside Kansas law.
After Kline filed the charges, Six, who was appointed by pro-abortion ex-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (now the Obama Secretary for Health and Human Services), placed a gag order on a state judge who allowed Kline access to Planned Parenthood abortion files needed to prove his case. Anderson was told not to comply with the District Attorney’s subpoenas by Six’s office even though two judges determined that the files show “probable cause” that the abortion business violated state abortion laws and falsified medical records.
Six then backtracked and modified his demand with the Kansas Supreme Court, and acknowledged that key evidence should remain with in the possession of a District Court judge. Six had sued Judge Richard Anderson and asked that abortion reports Anderson had previously obtained be given back to him so he could give them to the Overland Park Planned Parenthood under investigation.
Six offered an alternative, saying Judge Anderson can keep the records as long as they are not used in the criminal case brought against Planned Parenthood. That would still prevent justice from moving forward, pro-life advocates said.
Operation Rescue told LifeNews.com at the time that it was concerned about Six’s efforts to keep important evidence out of the hands of prosecutors and called his actions a blatant obstruction of justice.
“Six has been acting like he is on Planned Parenthood’s payroll. His actions have been grossly inappropriate for a state’s ‘Top Cop,’” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
“The records show overt actions taken by Six in direct response to Kline’s prosecution that were designed to make sure incriminating evidence against Planned Parenthood was never used against them in court, ” Newman added. “When Six’s efforts to deny evidence to Kline were finally exposed, Six had no choice but to backtrack. His pleadings made him look guilty as sin in an obvious abortion cover up.”
“Steve Six has a lot to answer for,” Newman concluded. “The charges of illegal late-term abortions and making false representations to authorities to cover for other crimes are serious charges that deserve to have a fair hearing in court. Steve Six placed himself between a county prosecutor and the perpetrator for the express purpose of concealing evidence of Planned Parenthood’s crimes. That is unconscionable.”
In more recent comments, Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue urged Six’s defeat, saying, “Operation Rescue opposes Six’s confirmation on the grounds that his political biases make him unfit to serve.”
Kathy Ostrowski of Kansans for Life has also called on the Senate to defeat Six’s nomination.
“Six has not demonstrated any notable record of accomplishment during his Sebelius-appointments. Rather he has shown himself to be partisan and pro-abortion. He was willing to interrupt his comfortable law practice and this judicial nomination is his reward for jumping to help Sebelius and the abortion industry,” she said.
Six, a Democrat who served as attorney general until he lost his bid for re-election, will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He was defeated in the mid-term elections of 2010 and was replaced by pro-life supporter Derek Schmidt.
ACTION: Contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at https://judiciary.senate.gov and urge opposition to Six’s nomination.
