Late Friday, Shawnee County District Judge Franklin R. Theis quietly issued a ruling in favor of former abortionist Ann Kristen (Kris) Neuhaus, overturning the State Healing Arts Board’s July 2012 revocation of her license and wiping out her $93,000.00 debt of assessed court costs. (Note, Neuhaus has already achieved $63,000.00 to pay that debt, pledged here.)
Neuhaus’ license was revoked for negligence and failing to meet the standard of care in eleven cases in 2003, in which she had “approved” young teens to obtain post-viability abortions from the late George Tiller in Wichita, on grounds that –without those abortions–they would suffer irreversible mental harm. (see more info here, here, and here)
The Board’s revocation case had gone to trial under administrative law judge Edward Gashler, who ruled that Neuhaus had demonstrably failed to keep accurate and complete medical records, as required by law.
Neuhaus’ inability to practice medicine was long documented in her disciplinary history, first with limitations in 1999 due to “failure to maintain complete and accurate records.” Soon after, the Board found in 2000 and 2001 that Neuhaus violated the standard of care due to “no focused physical examination,” failure in “ monitoring vital signs”, and “no anesthesia record”—actions the Board said “create a danger to the public.”
While Theis upheld Neuhaus’ record-keeping failure, he overturned Gashler’s assessment that Neuhaus had “seriously jeopardized” patients’ care with inadequate mental health exams. Theis sent the case back to the State Healing Arts Board for review.
As reported by the Associated Press, executive director, Kathleen Lippert Seltzer, said the Board will meet within the month to decide whether to rehear the case or instead, file an appeal of Theis’ decision.
AP also quoted Bob Eye, one of Neuhaus’ attorneys, as saying Thies’ ruling is “pretty consistent” with their arguments. Gee, what a surprise—Theis is on their side?
ABORTION LAWYER SAVES JUDGE
Eye’s former law partner, Planned Parenthood counsel Pedro Irigonegaray, orchestrated (and helped fund) a successful last-minute rescue of Theis’ job in 2004. This was a response to an ad hoc group of Shawnee County citizens who were justifiably outraged at Theis’ leniency to child molesters in three cases and sought his defeat. However, with the help of Irigonegaray and attorney donations for TV and radio ads, Theis eked out a narrow 51% victory. (read more here and here)
Pro-lifers are infuriated that this same Judge Thies has been “sitting on” another Kansas abortion lawsuit, brought against the Kansas 2011 abortion clinic regulation law. Theis has indefensibly allowed NO ACTION to proceed in this lawsuit brought by the Overland Park abortion duo of Herb Hodes and daughter Traci Nauser. The 2011 law—which is not in effect to Theis’ stubborn inaction for over two years—would:
- create licensure standards for abortion businesses with requisite hospital privileges;
- allow Health department inspections, including one annual unannounced visit;
- mandate reporting of abortion-caused injuries;
- insure chemical abortions are administered in person (not via “webcam”).
Kansans for Life has prioritized educating pro-lifers about the dire need for reforming the judicial nominating procedure in our state, to be more reflective of the Kansas public and less a tool of the abortion industry. Judge Franklin Theis is a prime example of the need for such reform.
LifeNews.com Note: Kathy Ostrowski is the legislative director for Kansans for Life, a statewide pro-life group.
