Kansas Abortion Provider Found Not Guilty
Doctor Acquitted of Performing Illegal Late Term Abortions
Apr 18, 2009
Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas was acquitted on misdemeanor charges of violating Kansas restrictions on late-term abortions. But the case still drags on outside the courtroom as both prosecutors and Tiller face ethical complaints to their respective professional boards.
Tiller's Acquittal on Criminal Charges
The jury took only 25 minutes to deliberate before acquitting Tiller. The case itself was flimsy with little evidence. The charges were originally brought by former attorney general Phill Kline, the vocal anti-choice politician. Since Kline lost re-election as Kansas Attorney General and then again as Johnson County District Attorney, he has left the state to become a law professor at Jerry Falwell's University of Liberty. The Attorney General who carried on the case against Tiller to this acquittal, Stephen Six, is actually not opposed to abortion rights. It has been suggested the only reason he proceeded with the case was so not to appear protective of abortion providers.
Thought the case may have continued after the original Attorney General left, it still lacked strong enough evidence to prove Tiller had actually done anything wrong. The charges alleged Tiller did not obtain a second opinion for late-term abortions in 2003 from an independent physician, as required by a 1998 Kansas law. In each of the 19 cases, he obtained a second opinion from Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus. The prosecution claimed that she was not financially independent of Tiller and so he had violated the law when he performed those abortions. Both Neuhaus and Tiller denied any financial arrangement.
Complaints Against Tiller to the State Board
While Dr. Tiller's name has been cleared, the case may not be over for the doctor or former attorney general Phill Kline. Both have had complaints filed against them to their respective professional boards.
Kansas State Board of Healing Arts has said it will move forward with the investigation of a complaint against Tiller. The petition details eleven allegations independent of the criminal charges for which Tiller could have his medical license revoked, suspended or restricted. But while the petition is being treated as separate from the criminal charges, the eleven allegations appear to be eleven of the same allegations made in the criminal case.
This could be interpreted as a continued attack on Tiller and the pro-choice movement by anti-choice activists. Since the criminal case has failed, he is now being pursued in a court of another kind. But the pro-choice movement remains hopeful that Tiller will be found innocent a second time. "The anti-choice forces are not going to go away easily, but this will end," said Peter Brownlie, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. "And this will end in our favor."
Tiller's criminal trial and now addressing the same complaint before the board is only the latest challenges in a continuous battle. He has been a target of the anti-choice movement for many years and has been harassed politically, legally and even physically. In 1993, he was shot in both arms outside of a Wichita health care center by Rachelle Shannon, an anti-choice extremist. But despite the opposition he encounters, Tiller continues to practice medicine.
Ethics Complaints Against Prosecutor
Former Attorney General Phill Kline and two of his associates may also face ethics complaints because of their over-zealous prosecution of abortion providers. A February 19th letter said a review committee for the state Board for the Discipline of Attorneys has found probable cause Kline and his two deputies violated rules of conduct. Kline's handling of evidence is the main focus of contention. Documents turned over in the discovery process indicate Kline planned for armed raids in the clinic to seize patient records, employee files and even the license plate numbers from the parking lot.
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