anti-choicers are going to blow a gasket: Charges against Kansas abortion clinic dropped
By By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press – 14 minutes ago
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor on Friday dropped all remaining criminal charges against a Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood clinic accused of performing illegal abortions, ending what was believed to be the first attempt in the U.S. to prosecute a facility affiliated with the group.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced that 32 misdemeanor charges against the clinic had been dismissed. Those charges were the last part of a criminal case filed in 2007 by Howe's predecessor.
The clinic originally faced 107 criminal charges, including 23 felonies accusing it of falsifying copies of reports on abortions it had filed with the state. All of the allegations stemmed from abortions performed by the clinic in Overland Park in 2003.
Most of those charges were dismissed over the past 10 months for various reasons, leaving only counts related to allegations that 16 abortions violated a state law restricting late-term procedures when a fetus is viable. The remaining counts alleged that the Planned Parenthood clinic had performed illegal abortions after failing to properly determine whether a fetus was viable.
Howe said in a statement that "extensive research" by his office determined the clinic's practices were "within accepted practices in the medical community." He said he reached the conclusion after consulting with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
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