Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) on Thursday defended his attempts to gain access to the medical records of women who had late-term abortions and filed a brief with the state Supreme Court in response to a brief filed by two Kansas medical clinics seeking to stop the investigation, the Kansas City Star reports (Klepper, Kansas City Star, 3/4). Two Kansas medical clinics last week filed a brief with the state Supreme Court requesting that the court block Kline's investigation involving the medical records of about 90 women who sought late-term abortions at the clinics in 2003. According to the brief, Kline last year issued a subpoena ordering the release of complete, unedited medical records -- including each patient's name, medical history, birth control practices, psychological profile and sexual history -- for all women and girls who sought abortions at or after 22 weeks gestation. The brief claims that Kline subpoenaed the records to search for evidence of crimes, including possible violations of laws limiting late-term abortions and requiring mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/1).

Kline Response
Kline on Thursday defended his investigation, saying that the clinics that filed the brief are not seeking to protect their patients' privacy but rather are looking to avoid criminal prosecution, according to the New York Times. Kline said that the clinics' request that he detail the nature of his investigation before they turn over medical records could be compared with a "bank robber's preventing a police officer from looking into a sack unless he is told why," according to the Times (Wilgoren, New York Times, 3/4). "The issue in this case is whether abortion clinics are above the law," Kline said, adding, "The clinics maintain the position that the state must prove a crime has been committed before it can review the evidence of a crime. That position is untenable" (Funk, Wichita Eagle, 3/4). Although Kline has said that his investigation into the clinics is intended to find evidence of child sexual abuse, his 51-page response brief makes "little mention" of child abuse, showing that the investigation focuses on whether abortion providers in the state are following the law in performing late-term abortions, according to the Star (Kansas City Star, 3/4). Kline said that a judge would review all documents handed over by the clinics and that the judge could withhold information from Kline's office, according to the Eagle (Wichita Eagle, 3/4). Kline added that no patient names or other patient information would become public regardless of what the judge allows his office to review, according to the AP/Kansas City Star (Hanna, AP/Kansas City Star, 3/4). The clinics may submit a reply to Kline's brief before the court takes action (Kansas City Star, 3/4).

Reaction
Lee Thompson, an attorney representing the clinics, said that his "clients have followed the law and will continue to do so," adding, "They have fulfilled their duties to protect the privacy of their patients" and have reported "cases of criminal abuse to authorities in the locations having jurisdiction, and, as well, to respect the orders of the Kansas courts (including in this case) concerning public disclosure of information relating to subpoenas for medical records," according to the Times (New York Times, 3/4). San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who successfully opposed motions by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to gain medical records in another abortion-related case, said that Kline's tactics "appear flawed," according to the Eagle. "The Kansas attorney general's chilling power grab isn't a litigation tactic -- it's an intimidation tactic," Herrera said (Wichita Eagle, 3/4).