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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (38345)	2/25/2005 12:10:58 PM
From: PartyTime	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 173976

You're not talking about warriors like this, are you? Are you defending the Klines of America? Indeed, GOPwingers on the move! Posted on Thu, Feb. 24, 2005 Clinics say the attorney general's investigation undermines their patients' right to privacy. BY RON SYLVESTER The Wichita Eagle Two medical clinics are asking the Kansas Supreme Court to intercede in a secret investigation by Attorney General Phill Kline involving medical records of females seeking late-term abortions. Documents filed Tuesday by lawyers in Wichita and Topeka reveal details of a closed-door court battle raging since last fall between state powers and individuals' right to privacy. The action "arises out of a secret inquisition of nearly 90 women who obtained abortions at two Kansas clinics in 2003," the legal brief claims. A spokesman for Kline said the office had no immediate comment but expected to make a statement today. Kline has little more than a week to file his response to the high court. Two Wichita-area lawmakers say they want Kline to continue to seek the records, which might reveal sex crimes against children. A federal judge in Wichita has blocked Kline's access to similar records in an unrelated lawsuit. Until this week's filing, the existence of Kline's investigation has been under seal in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, and hearings were closed to the public. Kansas law gives prosecutors the right to conduct secret inquisitions during a criminal investigation. Because of the court-ordered seals, the two clinics are not identified in the Supreme Court brief. Even the patients whose medical records are under subpoena have not been told the state's top law enforcement officer is attempting to gain access to their files, the brief said. Lawyers for the clinics say the effects of turning over private medical information could be chilling. "The logical and natural progression of this action," the brief said, "could well be a knock on the door of a woman who exercised her constitutional right to privacy by special agents of the attorney general who seek to inquire into her personal medical, sexual or legal history." According to the brief: Kline's subpoena ordered the complete, unedited medical records be delivered to Shawnee County District Judge Richard Anderson by October 2004. Kline subpoenaed records of females who sought abortions at least 22 weeks into their pregnancy. Under the order signed by Anderson, the records would include each patient's name, medical history, details of her sex life, birth control practices and psychological profile. The attorney general wants to look at the records to search for evidence of crimes defined by laws that limit late-term abortions and require mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse. State Sens. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, and Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, released a statement Wednesday afternoon supporting Kline's efforts. "If a child the age of 10, 11 or 12 years of age seeks an abortion in Kansas, by law that child has been raped, and we believe the state has the obligation to investigate that rape, bring the rapist to justice and prevent further exploitation of the child," the statement read. In June 2003, Kline tried to require all of the state's health care providers to report any knowledge of sexual activity of girls under the age of 16. That's the legal age that a girl can consent to sexual relations in Kansas. But after several health care providers sued in federal court, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten issued a temporary restraining order, citing confidential patient-doctor privilege. The case is still pending. In the latest dispute, the two clinics are arguing that by requesting their records, Kline is trying to get through the state courts what the federal judge denied him. In their brief, the clinics say they have offered to turn over limited records with names and other personal information blacked out. But the brief said Kline declined to provide specifics of his investigation and instead wanted the complete records. On Oct. 21, Anderson ruled that Kline could have the uncensored files. The clinics now want the Supreme Court to intervene, saying "these women's rights will be sacrificed if this fishing expedition is not halted or narrowed." kansas.com