Killing Viable Unborn Babies in Kansas
The Tiller case is an interesting one. He has gotten off, amazingly, with a jury acquittal, from his prosecution on charges of aborting viable babies without an independent second opinion that the mother's health requires it. I've collected links here. First see 2007-06-25 Expert McHugh Backs up Charges Against Tiller Info in Kline charges edited (for length) and emphasis added by Mary Kay Culp, Kansans for Life.
Kansas law KSA 65-6703 requires that if an abortionist suspects an unborn child is around 22 weeks along, he must determine if the baby is viable, that is, capable of living outside the womb with or without medical help (22-23 weeks is generally regarded as when a baby could live outside the womb). If the abortionist determines that the baby is “viable”, then the abortion can only be performed if a second doctor who is NOT financially or legally affiliated with the abortionist agrees with the abortionist that it is necessary because the mother is going to die (no such cases in Kansas since records started being kept in 1998), or she will suffer a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major “bodily” function. (Former Attorney General Carla Stovall issued an opinion in 2000 that “major bodily function” includes risks to mental health as long as such risk is “substantial and irreversible.” ) ... Kline Charges Against George Tiller, December, 2006 Note: 15 abortions; 2 counts each Count 1: Unlawful Late Term...14 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable…26 week…wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder NOS or Adjustment Disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. Count 2: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion…29 weeks of age, did report that the fetus was not viable... Count 3: Unlawful Late Term Abortion 10 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...28 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 4: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion…28 weeks of age... did report that the fetus was not viable... Count 5: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable... 28 weeks... wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 6: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...28 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 7: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...16-year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...29 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 8: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...29 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 9: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...19 year old pregnant woman when the fetus was viable...27 weeks, wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 10: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion... 27 weeks of age...did report that the fetus was not viable and therefore did not report the actual determination of fetus viability... Count 11: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...22 year old pregnant woman when the fetus was viable 31 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 12: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...31 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 13: Unlawful Late Term...15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...26 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 14: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion... 26 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 15: Unlawful Late Term 15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...28 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Acute Stress Disorder... Count 16: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion... 28 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 17: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...25 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 18: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination… Count 19: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Acute Stress Disorder... Count 20: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...26 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 21: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...15 year old pregnant child...when the fetus was viable... 25 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 22: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 23: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...14 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable... 25 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Acute Stress Disorder... Count 24: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 25: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...15 year old pregnant child when the fetus was viable...25 weeks...wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, Single Episode... Count 26: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 27: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...18 year old pregnant woman when the fetus was viable...25 weeks...defendant wrongfully relied on a diagnosis of Anxiety Disorder NOS or Acute Stress Disorder... Count 28: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did fail to report the basis for the determination... Count 29: Unlawful Late Term Abortion...13 year old pregnant woman when the fetus was viable...25 weeks...wrongfully relied on NO established diagnosis… Count 30: Failure to Report Justifications for Late Term Abortion...25 weeks of age...did report that the fetus was not viable and therefore did not report the actual determination… Witnesses: Thomas Williams, Jared Reed, Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, Steve Cavanaugh, Clerk of the District Court—3rd Judicial District, Dr. Paul McHugh (Psychiatrist-Johns Hopkins), Dr. Lome Phillips (Head of statistics, state of KS), Lorna Jansen, Gina Bowes Sealed documents attached in support include an affidavit of Dr. Paul R. McHugh, M.D., Johns Hopkins Medical Center, transcript of sworn statement by Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, M.D., copies of 15 KDHE report forms, and copies of 15 medical files with patient identification REDACTED!From Tiller the Killer’s Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card:
Dr. Paul McHugh, a nationally known psychiatrist, received a warning on June 12 from Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison who threatened to take legal action if McHugh didn’t stop making public statements regarding the medical records involved in the investigation of late- term abortionist George Tiller “the Killer.”...My Thoughts:On the evening of June 12, however, Attorney General Morrison did contact Dr. McHugh at a panel discussion with the intent of preventing him from speaking. A man claiming to be a criminal investigator for Morrison stood outside and asked every older man that approached if he were a doctor. Morrison’s cease-and-desist letter threatened the doctor with legal action and claimed that his office did contact the psychiatrist. “Again, we hereby demand that you cease and desist from all public comment about your work in this case,” said Morrison in the letter.
Morrison also argued that McHugh was violating the privacy of the patients involved, even though McHugh never mentioned the name of a single woman in the interview.
A major use of such prosecutions is to point out what goes on, whether it is deemed legal or illegal in the end. I think more use might be made of this case. What is most shocking is not the illegal activity--- that Tiller improperly used a non-independent doctor as his second opinion--- but the legal part--- that a viable baby can be killed if a casual non-expert opinion claims mild mental harm to the mother from the baby's survival.Useful Links:I don't think the public realizes this goes on. It is, indeed, incredible. And this is one of those cases where the de facto law and the de jure law are different. The de jure law-- well, the written law, let us say, since judge-made law is probably different--- requires something like major medical harm. The de facto law requires the desire of at least two doctors in the United States that the abortion be performed. So pro-abortion people can pretend that nothing bad is happening.
What is effective in refuting them is not the vague claim that late- term abortions occur without medical justification. Rather, we need specific cases with objective documentation.
The webpage,
http://www.kfl.org/SiteResources/Data/Templates/templateb.asp?docid= 813&DocName= 2007-06-25%20Expert%20McHugh%20Backs%20up%20Charges%20Against%20Tiller
is a good start. It paraphrases the sealed medical records in the Tiller case briefly.
What would be much better would be to open up the sealed records themselves. Or, even to open up ONE sealed record to be an example.
Can any more details be publicized?
Can a successful motion be made to unseal the records? Such a motion would be vigorously opposed by Tiller. But unsealing those records would be more important to fighting abortion than even a successful conviction of Tiller, wouldn't it? The scandal is what is legal, not what is illegal.
I imagine that the case for unsealing the records would be stronger if Tiller had lost, or after he is disciplined by whatever boards are relevant. The argument would then be that these sealed records are records of illegal (if not quite criminal) activities of the doctor and patient jointly, and so the doctor and patient should forfeit their right to privacy.
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3/28/2009 03:48:00 PM (the permalink).
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