The attorneys for abortion provider George Tiller filed a motion Monday to dismiss 19 misdemeanor charges filed by Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison (D) alleging Tiller violated a Kansas law that requires an independent, consulting physician to approve some late-term abortions, the Wichita Eagle reports. In the motion, Tiller's attorneys argue that the provision of the law that requires two or more doctors to sign off on late-term abortions is unconstitutional (Lefler, Wichita Eagle, 7/3).

Former state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) in 2004 subpoenaed the records of 90 women and girls who in 2003 underwent late-term abortions at Comprehensive Health in Overland Park, Kan., and Women's Health Care Services in Wichita, Kan., which is owned by Tiller. Kline charged Tiller with 30 misdemeanors for allegedly performing 15 illegal late-term abortions in 2003 on women and girls ages 10 to 22 without properly reporting the details to the state. Kline hired attorney Don McKinney to be special prosecutor in the case. Morrison -- who defeated Kline in the November 2006 election -- fired McKinney in January, and Morrison spokesperson Ashley Anstaett last week said that 15 of the 30 charges Kline flied against Tiller were based on incomplete and substandard information.

However, Morrison last week filed charges alleging that before performing 19 late-term abortions in 2003, Tiller received a second opinion from physician Ann Kristin Neuhaus, who Morrison said had financial ties with Tiller. A 1998 Kansas law says that before an abortion of a fetus of 21 weeks' gestation or more, two physicians must determine if continuation of a pregnancy will lead to death or "substantial and irreversible" harm to a "major bodily function." The consulting physician agreeing on the necessity of a late-term abortion cannot have legal or financial ties to the abortion provider (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/2).

Dismissal Motion
The motion filed by Tiller's attorneys states that the requirement is unconstitutional because it is vague, it violates a woman's right to obtain an abortion as outlined in previous court decisions and it places an undue burden on a physician's right to practice medicine, the AP/Guardian reports. "There is absolutely no guidance in the state as to what activities constitute legal or financial affiliation -- or how a physician might avoid some prosecutor making such a filing," the attorneys wrote (Hanna, AP/Guardian, 7/3).

According to the lawyers, similar measures have been deemed unconstitutional several times by courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Doe v. Bolton, which struck down Georgia's law that required three doctors to agree that an abortion was necessary to protect the health of a woman before the procedure could be performed. The attorneys also argued a provision in the law requiring the second opinion to come from a doctor licensed in Kansas increases possible dangerous delays and could illegally infringe on a woman's right to travel between states for medical treatment.

Comments
"We fully anticipated they would challenge the constitutionality of the statute," Anstaett said, adding that the attorney general is prepared to defend the law and will file a response with the court. Kline criticized Morrison for only charging Tiller under the second-physician provision, the Eagle reports. "Hopefully, the statute will be upheld," Kline said, adding that Morrison "has charged (Tiller) under the weakest section of the law" (Wichita Eagle, 7/3).

Dan Monnat, one of Tiller's lawyers, said a hearing on the request is scheduled for July 13 (AP/Guardian, 7/3). If convicted, Tiller could face up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine for each charge. The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts also could consider revoking Tiller's license to practice if he is convicted. Tiller is scheduled to appear in Sedgwick County, Kan., court on Aug. 7 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 7/2).

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