Stand with Truth

Pro-aborts lose another round to Phill Kline

Posted: December 10, 2008
1:00 am Eastern

© 2008

Four times in four years Wichita late-term abortionist George Tiller or Planned Parenthood of Kansas has sued Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline or Johnson County District Attorney

Phill Kline for investigating them. They have also filed hundreds of pages of ethics complaints, which continue nonstop to this day.

Despite a hostile Kansas Supreme Court, the majority of whom were appointed by a hostile governor who gets campaign money from Tiller and who has even hosted a party for him at her mansion, and various other hostile public officials who are on the dole for Tiller and/or Planned Parenthood, nothing has stuck to Kline.

Despite every attempted roadblock, the criminal investigations against Planned Parenthood and Tiller continue for allegedly violating state laws prohibiting late-term abortions and mandated reporting of underage abortions.

Kline’s investigation is so solid two pro-abortion Democrat AGs who wanted the case gone have been forced to continue prosecuting Tiller.

And four judges in five instances have reviewed Kline’s evidence and found probable cause to believe George Tiller or Planned Parenthood has committed 156 criminal acts (although earlier this year the Supremes without reason forbad the judge holding the original records indicting Planned Parenthood from testifying).

In this latest round, Planned Parenthood bizarrely asked the Kansas Supreme Court to let it sue its prosecutor, Kline, in a secret hearing, and the Supremes more bizarrely said sure.

Planned Parenthood asked the Kansas Supreme Court to hold Kline in contempt for transferring copies of redacted Planned Parenthood records from his old AG’s office to his new DA’s office, to fine Kline, to order Kline to return to Planned Parenthood the incriminating records against itself, and to force Kline to pay Planned Parenthood’s legal fees for suing him.

Kline’s AG replacement, Paul Morrison, sided with Planned Parenthood and then denied Kline representation, forcing Kline to personally pay for his own legal defense. To date, Kline’s bills amount to $200,000. (Donate to offset his legal fees at standwithtruth.com.)

Shortly after meddling in the case, Morrison was forced to resign for having an affair with one of Kline’s subordinates and asking her to spy on him.

None of these developments has shocked the sensibilities of the mainstream media. Instead they have mercilessly and relentlessly turned on Kline with a vengeance, because the issue is abortion.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood lost its latest lawsuit last week on all merits:

a) that Kline be ordered to hand over all evidence and that it be suppressed – DENIED

b) that Kline be held in contempt – DENIED

c) that Kline be fined – DENIED

d) that Planned Parenthood receive attorney fees – DENIED

The Supreme Court justice writing the majority opinion, Carol Beier, an appointee of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius , was clearly angry she couldn’t find a way to stop the decision. She lashed out at Kline so vehemently that upon first read of the opinion the mainstream media thought Kline lost the case, and reported it so.

Perhaps I’m too kind simply to dismiss the media as being unable to read. Kansas media has a history of writing court decisions against Kline regardless of what the decisions actually state. Recall the time Planned Parenthood sued Kline to stop him from obtaining the records in the first place. Kline won and got the records, but the Kansas media reported he lost.

After castigating Kline as well as the woman who bore him, Beier wrote the Supremes were “sanctioning” Kline to give copies of Planned Parenthood’s records to the AG he had already offered to give but had been declined.

Beier closed by warning that while they had nothing on Kline now, be ready for something, anything, to pop up in the future to cause the suspension of his license.

“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too,” Brier would have written had she not feared accusations of plagiarism.

Never doubt the abortion industry and its supporters in public office, the courts and the media are trying to make an example of Kline to intimidate all other prosecutors around the country from messing with them.

Soon Kline’s days as Kansas prosecutor will be over, and he can rest as a faithful servant whose job was well done … after he pays his $200,000 in legal fees.

Then all eyes will be on the spines of Steve Howe, Kline’s elected replacement, and his babysitter, pro-life Kansas U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, who supported Howe over Kline in the Republican primary.

Kansas has one of our nation’s most restrictive late-term abortion laws, yet George Tiller of Wichita, Kansas is on our nation’s leading abortionists of late-term viable unborn children.  Mr. Tiller justifies his abortions under Kansas law by diagnosing that the mother is suffering from “severe single episodic depression,” “anxiety disorder,” or “adjustment disorder” due to the pregnancy.  This information came to light when former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline filed charges against Tiller.

Mr. Kline retained the services of Dr. Paul McHugh, one of the world’s most esteemed psychiatrists.  Dr. McHugh was Chair of the Johns Hopkins School of Psychiatry for more than 25 years.  Dr. McHugh reviewed Mr. Tiller’s files to determine if the late-term abortions on viable unborn children met with the Kansas legal requirement that two doctors find that the mother would suffer “servere and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” if the abortion was not performed.

Dr. McHugh’s conclusions were that (1) not one abortion was justified under the Kansas law; (2) Mr. Tiller’s psychiatric conclusions were not supported by the evidence in the file (Mr. Tiller is a trained pathologist); (3) the reasons given for having an abortion (if I have a child I cannot afford a babysitter to attend a rock concert) may have seemed significant to the patient but in psychiatric terms are not; (4) the conditions diagnosed were not permanent; and (4) abortion is not a treatment for any of the conditions diagnoses.

Dr. McHugh’s conclusions were partially based on a 2000 legal opinion issued by then Attorney General Carla Stovall who is pro-choice.  Kline was elected in 2002.  In her opinion Stovall found that the Kansas late-term language allowed an abortion for mental health reasons but that the mental health reasons must be “permanent and substantial.”  (A video interview of Dr. McHugh regarding Mr. Tiller is found after this story).

Mr. Tiller’s logic, however, is that if a woman does not want to give birth to a child and she is required to give birth to a child - then she has suffered severe and irreversible impairment.  This ignores logic and the law.

First the law states that the “pregnancy” must cause the severe and irreversible impairment and the pregnancy is temporary.  The law is designed to prevent a requirement to go through pregnancy when the mother might suffer catastrophic harm.  This happens for example when she has an ectopic pregnancy or suffers preeclampsia.  A full term pregnancy in these conditions could lead to serious repurcussions for the mother.

The law is designed to protect the mother and the fetus when the fetus has reached viability.  But in Mr. Tiller’s clinic “the woman is the patient and the fetus is the problem.”  This quote is taken from an introduction video that Mr. Tiller requires all of his patients to view.

And so, in Mr. Tiller’s world the presence of the fetus in and by itself, renders severe and irreversible damage to the mother’s bodily functions, until treated with abortion.  This is entirely convenient because an abortion is then justified under all circumstances at any time in gestation - even while the fetus is being born and when the fetus is viable.  In other words, abortions cannot be restricted - ever.

Mr. Tiller is protected in these absurdities by a supprtive District Attorney Nola Foulston of Wichita, an avid pro-abort Kansas media elite (there are truly only 7 or 8 journalists who cover the issue in Kansas and who direct the focus of stories) pro-abortion Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and the millions of dollars of political monies Mr. Tiller and Planned Parenthood have poured into Kansas to defeat and demonize effective pro-life leaders like Mr. Kline.  (Mr. Kline’s charges, which were supported by a judge’s findings that the evidence presented probable cause to believe that Mr. Tiller committed crimes, were dismissed when DA Foulston found a  separate judge, who did not review any of the evidence, to dismiss the charges claiming the Attorney Generral did not have authority to file such charges, Kline was not present during or even notified of the 10 minute meeting Ms. Foulston had with the traffic court judge who dismissed the charges).

Kansas may choose to live in this alternative universe in order to protect one of their state’s leading industries - the killing of viable children moments before birth so the mother can attend rock concerts - but the rest of the world, fortunately, does not.

Two recent studies have concluded that women who choose abortion rather than giving birth and adoption in circumstances involving unwanted pregnancies suffer a much greater risk of having emotional and psychiatric difficulties.  In other words, studies show that Mr. Tiller’s “treatment” exacerbates the problem.

A recent American study published in the 2008 Journal of Psychiatric Research finds that women who have an abortion face a 126% increase of drug dependency; 120% greater risk of alcohol abuse; a 111% increase in panic attacks brought about in anxiety disorders, a 59% increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and a 45% increased chance of major depression.  (read more here).

The research team was led by Dr. Priscilla Coleman, professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green University.  (Coleman PK et. al., Induced abortion and anxiety, mood and substance abuse disorders: Isolating, Journal of Psychiatric Research (2008), doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.10.009.)

Additionally, researchers writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry have concluded the same: women facing unwanted pregnancies who choose abortion face a greater risk to their mental health than women facing unwanted pregnancies who chose to give birth.  (Fergusson D, Horwood LJ and Boden JM (2008) British Journal of Psychiatry, 193: 444-451).  The study followed more than 500 New Zealand women for several year You can read more here).

Kansans may choose to live in world where late-term abortions on viable children are justified despite the law and woman reap the consequences from poor care but fortunately, thanks in part to Dr. McHugh, Ms. Coleman and the British Journal of Psychiatry, the rest of the wold does not join the chosen ignorance of Kansans.

Dr. Paul McHugh Interview