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Hearings against Kansas Planned Parenthood Delayed Until May

By Michael Baggot

TOPEKA, KS, April 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The long saga of District Attorney Phillip Kline's 107-count criminal complaint against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (PPKM) is to be even further drawn out after a judge Thursday decided to postpone a preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for today, until May 27th. 

Kline subpoenaed the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for records that would certify key documents pertaining to late-term abortions performed at PPKM.  The KDHE filed a motion to quash, arguing that Kline had no authority to those documents as a district attorney. 

On Thursday, District Judge Stephen Tatum decided to rule on the KDHE motion to quash on April 28.  And since the KDHE's obligation to certify records will not be determined until the end of the month, the judge also postponed the preliminary hearings originally scheduled for today and tomorrow.

While Planned Parenthood attorney Pedro Irigonegaray claimed in court that Kline's case would collapse without the KDHE's certification, Kline insists that he can proceed without the KDHE's cooperation.  Nonetheless, Kline stated that gaining KDHE certification would enable his case to develop in "a more efficient manner."

Yvonne Anderson, chief counsel for the KDHE, pointed out that only the attorney general and Board of Healing Arts are allowed to use documents with identifying information about abortion patients.

However, as Jennifer Giroux of the pro-life group Women Influencing the Nation told LifeSiteNews.com, the "records are already redacted from when they were received."  In other words, the documents Kline requests reveal the reasons given for the 23 late-term abortions, but do not reveal the names or other personal information of the women who received the abortion.

Giroux also chided Attorney General Steve Six for being in "in full advocacy and defense for Planned Parenthood instead of standing with his own prosecutor against a criminal defendant."

In regard to PPKM CEO Peter Brownlie's comments that he hopes the trial comes about so as to demonstrate PP's innocence, Giroux replied, "This is just not the case.  They fear what the abortion records will show.  If they show that PP is doing abortions past 22 weeks it proves him to be a liar because he stated that they never do them past that time."

Previous Kansas AG Paul Morrison reported that there was no legal wrongdoing committed by PP, after investigating late-term abortion records.  However, County District Judge Richard Anderson testified that there were discrepancies between the abortion records PP had presented and those from the KDHE.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Kansas Department of Health Refuses Documents Key to Case Against Planned Parenthood
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040106.html

Commentary: In Defense of Phill Kline
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022502.html

Pro-Abortion Kansas Attorney General Resigns During Sex Scandal
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121409.html

Kansas Attorney General Accused of Interfering with Investigation of Late-Term Abortionist
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/dec/07121005.html

107-Count Grand Jury Indictment Against Planned Parenthood Could Open "New Front" in US Abortion Fight
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07102503.html

Renowned Psychiatrist Witness in Notorious Late-Term Abortionist Case Breaks Silence: Threatened by Kansas Attorney General
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07061301.html

New Kansas Attorney General Immediately Fires Prosecutor of Abortionist Tiller
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07011107.html

Visit the site for Women Influencing the Nation:
http://www.womeninfluencingthenation.com/

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