AP: No Charges Against Kan. Abortion Doctor

[Eugene]

No Charges Against Kan. Abortion Doctor

By JOHN HANNA
The Associated Press
Thursday, December 28, 2006; 12:07 PM

WICHITA, Kan. -- Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline spent more than two years
investigating a nationally known abortion provider, but he'll likely leave office
next month with little to show for it.

A judge on Wednesday refused to reinstate the 30 criminal charges Kline filed against
Dr. George Tiller, and Kline's successor said Thursday that he won't keep the special
prosecutor Kline appointed to the case.

Democrat Paul Morrison, who defeated Kline in November and takes office as attorney
general on Jan. 8, would not completely rule out an investigation into Tiller.

But he told The Associated Press that any investigation won't involve Kline's special
prosecutor. Kline had named Wichita attorney Don McKinney to the case on Wednesday,
saying that doing so would keep politics out of the investigation. But McKinney, who
had campaigned for Kline, is viewed as a strong anti-abortion activist.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/28/AR2006122800556.html

[AlCzervik]

1. thank goodness Kline was defeated.

i thought this was insteresting--

Tiller, as one of the few doctors in the nation to perform late-term abortions, has long been a target of protesters. His clinic was bombed in 1985, and a protester shot him in both arms eight years later. He also helped finance hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of advertising aimed at defeating Kline in 2002 and 2006.

[sharp_stick]

2. Excellent News

May that fundie POS Kline slink off into obscurity. I'll be happy if I never see that asshole again.

On edit: Fixed typo

[Beaverhausen]

3. O'Leilly will be most upset at this news

[ceile]

4. Thank god.

This case was about to set a scary precedent. The judge allowed Kline to obtain medical records of women in order to find offenses by Tiller. But I saw it more as another way to stigmatize, and possibly prosecute, women who have had abortions. Not to mention a major HIPAA violation.