Kansas Grand Jury Investigating Abortion Provider Tiller Has Not Received Subpoenaed Medical Records

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation
Article Date: 06 Jun 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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A Kansas grand jury investigating abortion provider George Tiller has not received the medical records of Tiller's patients that were subpoenaed earlier this year, the state judge who is overseeing the grand jury said Tuesday, the AP/Hays Daily News reports.

According to District Judge Paul Buchanan, a physician and a lawyer who are reviewing the records before they are given to the grand jury have received fewer than 20 redacted records from Tiller. The grand jury has not received any records, Buchanan said. He added that he expects the grand jury to eventually receive between 160 and 170 records dated from Jan. 1, 2004, to the present (Hegeman, AP/Hays Daily News, 6/3).

The grand jury is investigating whether Tiller violated Kansas law, which allows women to abort a fetus after 21 weeks' gestation only if two doctors certify that continuing the pregnancy could kill the woman or cause "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function." The state Supreme Court requires that a woman's mental, as well as physical, health be taken into account. The grand jury served Tiller's clinic with a subpoena asking the clinic to provide 2,000 medical records of women who sought or obtained abortions after their 21st week of pregnancy (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/8).

The grand jury's term expires July 8 and cannot be extended under Kansas law, Sedgwick County District Court Chief Judge Michael Corrigan said. Buchanan said he expected the grand jury would receive some records before the term expires but would not comment on whether the jurors will have enough time to issue a decision. "I have no idea what is in these records or what evidence [the grand jury has] received otherwise," Buchanan said.

Dan Monnat, one of Tiller's attorneys, said it is a "time-consuming process" for law offices and Tiller's Wichita clinic Women's Health Care Services to redact the records. "We are not trying to run out the clock," Monnat said, adding, "We are trying to timely comply with the court's order while at the same time guaranteeing the privacy of the patients to the degree permitted by the court's orders."

State AG's Criminal Case Against Tiller Likely To Be Delayed

In related news, the office of state Attorney General Stephen Six (D) does not expect the trial of a separate criminal case against Tiller to go forward on June 16 as planned, Six spokesperson Ashley Anstaett said (AP/Hays Daily News, 6/3). Tiller is being charged by Six's office with 19 misdemeanors for allegedly violating a state law that requires an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term abortions (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/23/07).

According to Anstaett, Sedgwick County District Judge Clark Owens has not ruled on a defense motion to dismiss the case or another motion to expand the number of jurors. In addition, prosecutors are waiting for copies of transcripts and other documents, Anstaett said (AP/Hays Daily News, 6/3).

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