Kansas Prosecutor Wants Legal Rape

Mar 7, 2005

Phill Kline, attorney general of the state of Kansas, has based his political career on attacking the rights of women who try to get an abortion.

After spending part of his eight years in the Kansas legislature writing laws against abortion, Kline used his appointment as state Attorney General to persecute women in a whole new way. A year ago, Kline demanded all the medical records of women who had had abortions at two Kansas clinics. It was a fishing expedition to violate every patient’s privacy in hopes of finding something sensational to prosecute. And it was carried out in great secrecy.

At the end of February, when Kline’s vendetta became public, he claimed he was looking for statutory rape crimes against children.

It’s a smoke screen–just like his second justification for carrying out a wholesale violation of private medical records–the claim that he was looking for "criminal" abortions. "Crimes"? The only one with criminal behavior here is the Kansas Attorney General.

Kline’s goal is to terrorize women in Kansas, as well as their doctors. If Kline’s subpoena of all abortion records is successful, any woman seeking an abortion for any reason will know that her personal medical records may one day be spread all over the front pages by some ambitious politician.

This is nothing but intimidation. Rape victims who have had an abortion will have their confidential medical histories violated. And every woman who has had an abortion, for whatever reason, will be legally raped in the same manner.

In one press conference, Kline said, "there are two things that child predators want, access to children and secrecy." Those are the exact methods he used himself! This predator on women demanded access to their personal medical records, and managed to keep his assault secret for a year, before it came to light.

The battle lines are clearly drawn: the Attorney General of Kansas vs. the rights of the women of Kansas.