By John Jalsevac
TOPEKA, Kansas, June 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A respected psychiatrist who was to be one of the primary witnesses against the infamous late-term abortionist George Tiller has broken his silence about the case, claiming that Kansas’ new attorney general failed to contact him, despite a supposed in-depth investigation into the case conducted by the attorney general.
“I expected to be contacted by someone,” said Dr. Paul McHugh, a graudate of Harvard, who was the chairman of psychiatry at John Hopkins University from 1977-2000. Instead of waiting any longer, however, the psychiatrist chose to come forward and make his professional findings public, believing that they are of significant import to the case.
In a taped interview that is available on Youtube (see link below story) Dr. McHugh claims that, based upon his detailed study of the case files of the various women who received late-term abortions from Tiller, there was not one single case of late-term abortion that could be remotely justified under Kansas law.
“Did you see any one file that justified a late-term abortion by demonstrating that she would suffer substantial and irreversible harm?” McHugh is asked by the interviewer in the video. He responded, “I saw no file that justified abortion on that basis.”
“I had to ask myself, looking at these records, ‘Is any person who comes to this clinic found not to be appropriate on psychological or psychiatric grounds for abortion?’” said McHugh, who pointed out that some of the abortions were justified on the basis of the psychological distress the young woman would suffer from not being able to go to sporting events, or to concerts.
McHugh also claims that the psychiatric evaluations that the women received prior to having their child aborted was inadequate, at best. “I would describe it (the psychiatric analysis) as brief, symptom-only based, and unsubstantiated in its prognosis on the basis of a rich detailed study of the young woman and her potentials,” claims McHugh, continuing, “If you’re going to take a life on the basis of a psychiatric examination, in my opinion, and I think the opinion of most psychiatrists, this requires a serious understanding of the full biography of the person, as well as the place where they are at the moment, the context in which this has happened.”
Dr. McHugh was originally contacted by former Attorney General Phil Kline, who asked the renowned psychiatrist to look at the records pertaining to George Tiller’s case, and to determine if he believed the women who received late-term abortions from Tiller were in any serious medical danger on account of their pregnancy. Kansas law limits abortion to under 23 weeks gestation, unless there is “irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”
Former Attorney General Kline had launched an investigation that led to 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, accusing him of conducting 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003, on women and girls ranging in age from 10 to 22. Those charges, however, were subsequently dismissed based upon a technicality having to do with jurisdiction.
Kline’s successor Paul Morrison, promised to also conduct an investigation into the matter, and, according to Operation Rescue, claims to have hired a full-time assistant attorney-general for the purpose of conducting the investigation.
Six months later, however, little seems to have happened with the investigation, and one of the primary witnesses against Tiller claims to not have even been contacted by the attorney general’s office. “I have to wonder what kind of half-baked investigation Morrison is conducting if he hasn’t even bothered to contact one of the main witnesses against Tiller,” said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger.
Yesterday the whole affair became even more convoluted and controversial after Attorney-General Morrison issued a letter to Dr. McHugh, in which the attorney general threatens the psychiatrist with legal action for publicly talking about the case, and claims that in fact his office did contact McHugh. The attorney general also claims that by speaking about the case McHugh is violating the privacy of the women who obtained the abortions, although McHugh never mentions any one woman by name in his taped interview.
“Again, we hereby demand that you case and desist from all public comment about your work in this case,” says the letter from Morrison. “Should you continue to make such statements, our office will pursue all available remedies.”
Due to the letter, McHugh cancelled a scheduled appearance at a public panel discussion, during which he was to speak about the case. According to witnesses, McHugh did arrive at the event and was greeted by a standing ovation, but informed the packed house that he would respect Morrison’s request and refrain from making further statements.
“He (Morrison) is the attorney general, and I don’t wish to fly in the face of the attorney general,” he told those gathered to hear him speak.
McHugh, however, reportedly strenuously denies that Morrison’s office ever contacted him, as the attorney general claims in his letter.
“Dr. McHugh was gentleman enough not to call Morrison a liar, but he strongly indicated to me that the conversation Morrison referred to in his letter did not happen,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who helped escort Dr. McHugh into the meeting room and briefly addressed the audience. “That letter was full of flat-out bold-faced lies meant to intimidate Dr. McHugh into silence, break up last night’s meeting, and attack the character of one of the nation’s most highly-respected experts in the field of psychiatry.”
Attorney-General Morrison has indicated that he will likely make a decision about whether or not to charge George Tiller by the end of this month.
See the taped interview with Dr. McHugh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviFMpy_sBU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eoperationrescue%2Eorg%2F%3Fp%3D658
Read the letter from Attorney-General Morrison:
https://operationrescue.org/pdfs/MorrisonThreat061207.pdf
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Judge Who Dismissed Charges Against Notorious Abortionist Concealed Financial Ties with Tiller
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07032307.html
Tiller may Face Grand Jury in Death of Christin Gilbert
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06040604.html
Charges Against Notorious Late-term Abortionist Tiller Won’t be Reinstated
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07021505.html
O’Reilly Factor Does Hard-Hitting Exposé of Kansas Late-Term Abortionis
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07053106.html
Resolution Demanding Charges Against Late-Term Abortionist Tiller Passes Kansas House Committee
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07032704.html
New Kansas Attorney General Immediately Fires Prosecutor of Abortionist Tiller
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07011107.html
Kansas Voters Let Abortionist, George “Tiller the Killer”, Possibly Avoid Criminal Investigation
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/nov/06110904.html
Kansas Abortionist Killed Late-Term Babies for “Maternal Depression”: Fox News
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/nov/06110606.html
Kansas Investigation into Child Rape Blocked by Two Secret Abortion Clinics
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05022505.html
Abortion Clinic Caught Shredding Documents as Kansas Court Considers Mandating Records Release
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/sep/05090601.html
“I Left My Dead Baby In The Toilet” – Former Patient of Abortionist Tells O’Reilly Factor
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06121304.html
Woman Dies after being Rushed from George “the Killer” Tiller’s Late-Term Abortion Mill
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05012711.html
Kansas Abortion Clinic Sends Another Woman to Hospital Weeks After Reported Death
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05021802.html
Canada Sending Women to Kansas for Late Term Abortions by Controversial Abortionist “Tiller the Killer”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/sep/04091001.html