After 10 Months of Stalling, KS Supreme Court Will Hear Arguments In Planned Parenthood Criminal Case
May 8th, 2009
Topeka, KS - The Kansas Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments in the criminal case against a Kansas Planned Parenthood organization on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. The arguments will be related to an appeal filed by former District Attorney Phill Kline of a ruling made by Judge Stephen Tatum rejecting four of Kline's subpoenas and other matters related to the case.
Kline charged Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri with 107 criminal counts, which included 23 felonies, in October, 2007. The charges include illegal late-term abortions, failure to determine viability for late-term abortions, failure to maintain records, and filing false information related to late-term abortions. One brief filed in the case included documents that provided convincing proof that Planned Parenthood violated the law, then lied about it.
Since then, Johnson County has elected a new District Attorney, Steve Howe, who has remained quiet on his plans, if any, for the prosecution. Howe, who claims to be pro-life, is not trusted by much of the pro-life community because of his fierce opposition to Kline and lack of any tangible pro-life record. His close association with former DA and Attorney General Paul Morrison, an ardent abortion supporter who was forced to resign as AG amid a sex and abortion corruption scandal, makes him even more suspect.
This is the first movement on the Planned Parenthood case in ten months. The case had been stalled while the KS Supreme Court pondered the appeals.
"The Kansas Supreme Court has a history of reluctantly upholding subpoenas issued by Kline, and we are expectant that this will be the case now," said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger. "We monitoring this case closely and are interested to see if Mr. Howe steps up and enforces the law, or follows in Morrison's footsteps and attempts to torpedo Kline's case."
"After ten months of stalling, it is past time for this case to move forward. In the event that Planned Parenthood is guilty of these crimes, it is hard to imagine how many more women have been subjected to illegal acts and how many viable babies have wrongly died while the Courts delay," said Sullenger. "Their lack of a sense of urgency betrays their lack of concern for the lives of the victims."
Operation Rescue plans to attend the hearing.
Read Timeline of Planned Parenthood Legal Cases
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