Judge Refuses to Open Proceedings in Abortion Records Case

TOPEKA, Kan. Hearings and other court proceedings in Attorney General Phill Kline's ongoing dispute with two abortion clinics over access to their patients' records will remain closed, a Shawnee County judge has ruled.

District Judge Richard Anderson denied a request to open the proceedings to the public, filed a week ago by The Associated Press and the Kansas Press Association, which represents newspapers across the state.

Anderson also warned the parties against publicizing the case further.

"We're disappointed with Judge Anderson's decision," Randy Picht, AP's bureau chief for Kansas and Missouri, said Monday. "And we're considering our options."Kline is attempting to glean information from records held by clinics operated in Wichita by Dr. George Tiller and in Overland Park by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. In 2004, at Kline's request, Anderson issued subpoenas for 90 records total, but the clinics asked the state Supreme Court to intervene. It did, sending the case back to Anderson.

"Banning the public from these hearings has absolutely nothing to do with patient privacy, since the Kansas Supreme Court has already ordered identifying patient information redacted from the records before they even get to court. But the secrecy does have everything to do with keeping the nefarious and possible illegal activity at Tiller's abortion mill and Planned Parenthood hidden from the public," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

"If the public heard of evidence that these abortion mills were committing illegal late-term abortions on healthy, viable pre-born children through the last trimester of pregnancy, and if they knew the abortion mills never report child rape as defined by Kansas law, it certainly would shape public opinion about abortion policy," said Newman.

"The good people of Kansas strongly oppose abortion and would not take that information favorably. Therefore, it appears that Judge Anderson is attempting to suppress public opinion to favor the abortion mills, and that certainly is not his job," Newman said. "If Anderson is covering for the abortion mills, he needs to be voted out of office the next time he stands for re-election."
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