Records show Kline didn’t drop Tiller efforts

    TOPEKA — Phill Kline didn’t abandon attempts to prosecute Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller after leaving the attorney general’s office, recently unsealed court records show.
    Kline transferred copies of edited patient records he’d received from Tiller’s clinic as attorney general to the Johnson County district attorney’s office, three days before leaving the state job and taking over the county office in January 2007.
    He had possession of the copies for three months before a Shawnee County district judge told him to give them up. But, according to a transcript, the same judge said during a hearing that Kline saw a link between Tiller’s activities and a Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park — and possible wrongdoing.
    Kline, a district attorney, has filed 107 charges against the Planned Parenthood clinic, accusing it of performing illegal abortions and falsifying documents. Planned Parenthood contends the charges are unfounded and is pursuing a lawsuit against Kline before the Kansas Supreme Court.
    Planned Parenthood’s case was sealed at its request and remained closed for 11 months, until last week, when the high court unsealed it and made hundreds of pages of documents public. Some discussed Kline’s handling of records from Tiller’s clinic and efforts to investigate the Sedgwick County doctor from Johnson County.
    Kline declined to discuss his interest in Tiller’s activities after leaving the attorney general’s office. Abortion rights advocates believe his interest was driven by his opposition to abortion and a desire to close both clinics.
    “I categorically deny that there’s any connection whatsoever, any impropriety,” said Lee Thompson, a Wichita attorney who represents Tiller. “It is a bogus, politically motivated product of a misogynistic politician.”
    Kline began investigating both clinics in 2003, when he was attorney general, under the supervision of Shawnee County District Judge Richard Anderson. Following a lengthy legal battle, Kline obtained copies of records from the files of 60 Tiller patients and 29 Planned Parenthood patients, edited to remove identifications.
    An anti-abortion Republican, Kline lost his 2006 race for re-election to an abortion rights Democrat. But Republicans in Johnson County picked him to fill a vacancy in the district attorney’s job there.
    In December 2006, just before leaving the attorney general’s office, Kline filed 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller in Sedgwick County, alleging Tiller had performed illegal late-term abortions. But the case was dismissed by a judge over jurisdictional issues.
    The current attorney general, Steve Six, is pursuing 19 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, but abortion opponents believe his case is weaker.
    A clue about Kline’s continuing interest in Tiller’s activities after becoming Johnson County district attorney comes from the transcript of a closed April 10, 2007, hearing before Anderson in Shawnee County. After Kline’s successor took office, the investigation of the abortion clinics Kline had started technically remained open.
    Anderson said Kline had “sound theories” for forwarding copies of medical records from Tiller’s clinic to Johnson County. Anderson said Kline was examining referrals by Planned Parenthood to Tiller for women who were at the 24th week of pregnancy.
    According to the transcript, Anderson said Kline questioned some referrals “on the same theory of legal late-term abortions, that sort of thing.”
    Peter Brownlie, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said its clinic in Overland Park doesn’t perform abortions when a fetus can survive outside the womb. He said it refers cases to Tiller, one of a few doctors in the U.S. who specializes in such procedures.
    “I can’t imagine what his legal theory is,” Brownlie said of Kline. “Health care providers refer to one another all the time.”
    Kline’s case against Planned Parenthood in Johnson County includes 29 misdemeanor charges that its clinic violated state law by “assuming without further testing that the fetus was not viable when a medical emergency was not present” before performing an abortion. All but one procedure was done in 2003 and the remaining one, in 2007.
    Planned Parenthood says the clinic committed no wrongdoing. The attorney general’s office said the same thing in a letter in June 2007, after Kline’s successor reviewed the evidence Kline had gathered.
    The attorney general’s case against Tiller does not touch on referrals from Planned Parenthood.
    Kline’s transfer documents involving Tiller patients to Johnson County became an issue for Anderson in April 2007, according to unsealed court transcripts.
    In the April 10, 2007, hearing, Anderson said he gave Kline permission to provide records to any county prosecutor who might investigate the clinics alongside Kline.
    But, according to the transcript, Anderson said he was not aware Kline had copies of Tiller records transferred to Johnson County until Kline informed him the day before the hearing. Kline said later that Anderson was informed earlier.
    Anderson said legally the investigation of Tiller belonged to the attorney general’s office and the documents Kline should not have the documents without its approval, which it wouldn’t give.
    Anderson had another hearing the next day. Kline attended and returned his copies. According to the transcript, the judge said he had no memory of being informed earlier of the transfer.
    Kline replied that the legal proceedings surrounding his investigation gave Anderson numerous details to track, adding, “We believe the court was informed and has forgotten.”
    ———
    The case before the Supreme Court is Comprehensive Health v. Phill Kline, No. 98,747.
    On the Net:
    Kansas Supreme Court: http://www.kscourts.org
    Johnson County district attorney: http://da.jocogov.org/
    Tiller’s clinic: http://www.drtiller.com