Investigations Summary and Timeline

 

 

Summary:

 

The timeline below consists of factual information, including dates and sources of information concerning events that have transpired around the attempts to enforce the law to restrict post-viable abortions passed in 1998.  Ten years later, this timeline demonstrates how legal maneuvers by those with money and/or power can virtually prevent enforcement of a law.  While the timeline seems lengthy and detailed, it really includes only actual legal actions taken by all interested parties in relation to this post-viable abortion law.  It is well worth the time it takes to read the entire timeline in order to better understand why the peoplearewatching.com website was launched and why the question is being asked “Is Tiller Above the Law?”

 

Timeline: (Below is a partial timeline.  It will be completed in the near future as dates and sources are documented.)

 

May 2, 1998—Capital-Journal—Gov. Bill Graves signed a bill to significantly restrict post-viable and partial-birth abortions. 

 

May 1998—Capital-Journal—Controversy erupted among lawmakers and government officials about whether the new abortion law contained an exception for the mental health of a pregnant woman.

 

June 6, 1998—Capital-Journal—Tiller filed a lawsuit with the Kansas Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the new post-viable abortion law and whether or not it includes an exception for the mental health of a pregnant woman.  The lawsuit also challenges the reporting requirements in the statute which require doctors to detail the reasons for post-viable abortions in reports filed with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment because submitting the reports could violate Tiller’s constitutional right against self-incrimination.  The records could be used as the basis for criminal prosecution and licensing revocation procedures.

 

July 1, 1998—The new post-viable abortion ban goes into effect.

 

July 10, 1998—Capital-Journal—Tiller filed a motion seeking to keep the law, which all but prohibits post-viability abortions, from taking effect until after the case is decided by the Kansas Supreme Court.  The court announced it will decide whether to consider the case in August or September.

 

July 18, 1998—Associated Press—Tiller angered lawmakers by deciding to start performing partial-birth abortions which he says is a way for him to legally perform post-viable abortions under the 1998 abortion law.  Attorney General Carla Stovall refused to seek an injunction against Tiller deferring to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts to make a determination on whether the law was broken.  The board said it would investigate if it receives a complaint, but no complaint has been filed. 

 

July 21, 1998—Capital-Journal—Gov. Bill Graves and Attorney General Carla Stovall requested that the Kansas Board of Healing Arts investigate whether Tiller is performing partial-birth abortions and to take appropriate actions based on any violations of the law. 

 

July 23, 1998—Associated Press—Tiller emphatically denied any legal wrongdoing in a letter to the Board of Healing Arts which will be investigating whether Tiller performed partial-birth abortions and if he has violated the law.

 

July 26, 1998—Associated Press—According to unpublished figures obtained from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, of the 11,507 abortions performed in Kansas in 1997, 4,973 involved out-of-state residents.  A comparison with 1996 shows a sharp increase in Kansas abortions—particularly for out-of-state women.  The number of abortions increased by 326 from 1996 to 1997, but the number of abortions for nonresident women grew by more than 606, state statistics show.

 

July 31, 1998—Associated Press—A 12-year-old girl from Michigan allegedly impregnated by her brother had a post-viable abortion in Wichita at George Tiller’s clinic according to an attorney for her parents.  The girl was 29 weeks pregnant, or late in her seventh month.  She was involved in a highly publicized legal battle to obtain the abortion.  Abortion is illegal in Michigan after the 24^th week unless the woman’s life is endangered.    

 

August 1, 1998—Capital-Journal—Tiller filed a petition with the Kansas Board of Healing Arts challenging its subpoena of his abortion records.  A petition to modify or limit the subpoena was filed asserting that the subpoena and a complaint that Tiller’s attorney said was filed by Gov. Bill Graves are vague and indefinite and require clarification.  The petition also asked the board for its interpretation of the new law, particularly the exceptions to it and whether it allows post-viability abortions to preserve the mental health of the mother.

 

August 11, 1998—Associated Press—Tiller filed a petition asking the state Board of Healing Arts to “modify and-or limit the subpoena” it issued for his records of post-viable abortions he has performed recently.  The board is asking for “any and all records” from July 1 through August 3 dealing with abortions performed where the gestational age of the fetus was more than 22 weeks.  The petition noted that there are different interpretations of the law and that Gov. Graves request for the board to investigate Tiller dealt with partial birth abortions while the subpoena from the board dealt with all post-viable abortions. 

 

August 16, 1998—Capital-Journal—The Board of Healing Arts reached an agreement with George Tiller concerning subpoenas for post-viable abortion records by the board so it can investigate whether Tiller has violated the law.  The board announced it will cancel the hearing for Tiller’s petition to modify the subpoenas noting Tiller had indicated a desire to cooperate but was concerned for the privacy of his patients.  Larry Buening, the board’s executive director, declined to release details of the agreement, noting that information regarding board investigations isn’t public unless charges are filed. 

 

October 1, 1998—Capital-Journal—The Kansas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by George Tiller challenging the constitutionality of a new law restricting post-viable abortions.  The court also refused Tiller’s request to block enforcement of the law until questions about its constitutionality are resolved.  The court has a long held policy that it will not issue advisory opinions.  Hours later, the Board of Healing Arts announced it would not pursue disciplinary action against Tiller after a three month investigation determined he wasn’t violating the law by performing post-viable abortions, including one on a 12-year-old girl from Michigan. 

 

October 9, 1998—Capital-Journal—Kansans for Life sent a letter to Attorney General Carla Stovall urging her to investigate allegations that Tiller is performing procedures that violate the new post-viable abortion law.  Copies of the letter were also sent to Gov. Bill Graves and Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston.  The governor’s office said the question has already been decided by the Board of Healing Arts.  Anti-abortion lawmakers are expected to try to tighten the loopholes in the law in the next legislative session. 

 

October 18, 1998—Capital-Journal—Attorney General Carla Stovall sent a letter to Kansans for Life informing them that she will not file charges against Tiller or initiate an investigation of him stating that she had no hard evidence that he had committed a crime.  Stovall cited the results of the recent investigation by the Board of Healing Arts to support her position.  Leaders from Kansans for Life pointed out that news accounts of a 12-year-old Michigan girl coming to Tiller for a post-viable abortion are evidence of violation of the law. 

 

November 18, 1998—Associated Press—A legislative committee recommended that lawmakers rewrite state law next year to narrow the reasons for allowing certain post-viable abortion practices in light of disagreements on how to enforce the law by government agencies, legislators and other interested parties. 

 

January 28, 1999—Capital-Journal—Legislation was introduced in the Kansas Senate to allow a woman to obtain a post-viable abortion if it were necessary to preserve her mental health.  Anti-abortion lawmakers don’t want the mental health exception because they believe it would allow post-viable abortions for almost any reason. 

 

April 7, 1999—Associated Press—The Kansas House will be debating a bill that would change the state’s post-viable abortion law.  Supporters of the bill say it will reduce the use of all types of post-viable abortions, including partial-birth abortions, and will not allow a mental health exception.  Opponents are concerned that the bill will be unconstitutional without the mental health exception.

 

April 27, 1999—Associated Press—Prospects of enacting a new post-viable abortion law this year are dim due to divergent views by legislators of how to fix the law.  Many lawmakers contend the law led to more partial-birth abortions because of the mental health exemption.  Department of Health and Environment statistics for 1998 show 58 partial-birth abortions were performed in Kansas compared to none in 1997.  The woman’s mental health was listed as the reason for all 58. 

 

The Kansas legislature failed to pass any new late-term abortion law in the 1999 session.

 

September 2, 1999—Associated Press—The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a 14-year-old girl could undergo an abortion outside Arizona even though she is believed to be 24 weeks pregnant.  Arizona law doesn’t allow abortions after a fetus is viable and no Arizona clinics perform abortions past the 20 week mark.  It is believed the girl is seeking an abortion in Kansas.

 

The Kansas legislature failed to pass any new post-viable abortion law in the 2000 session due to a lack of consensus between the House, Senate and the governor’s office concerning the mental health exception loophole. 

 

March 29, 2001—Associated Press—Nearly half the women who had abortions in Kansas last year were from other states.  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that of 12,323 induced abortions last year in the state, 6,352 of the women were Kansas residents and 5,971 were from elsewhere.  Of the 639 abortions performed after 22 weeks of pregnancy, 59 were performed on Kansans, and 580 were on women from other states.  Legislators on both sides of the abortion debate were troubled by the statistics on women who receive second, third and fourth abortions.  According to the report, 37.3 percent of the abortions in Kansas last year were performed on women who had undergone a previous abortion.

 

(The timeline from 2001 to 2007 will be available soon when documentation is complete.)

 

In August of 2007, Kansans for Life gathered 6,954 signatures of registered voters on a petition to convene a grand jury to look into violations of Kansas law banning post-viable abortions.

 

November 29, 2007—Kansas Supreme Court Order—On October 19, 2007, George Tiller filed a petition naming Judge Michael Corrigan and Judge Paul Buchanan as respondents challenging the legality of grand jury proceedings which were scheduled to commence on October 30, 2007.  With the petition was a motion to stay the grand jury proceedings until the court considers the petition.  On October 26, 2007, the court granted the motion to stay the grand jury.  The respondents filed their answers on November 16, 2007.  Having considered the petition, responses, and the record before the court, the court determined that the petition should be denied and the case dismissed.  The motion to stay the grand jury was lifted. 

 

In October of 2007, Kansans for Life turned in nearly 8,000 signatures to the Board of Healing Arts asking for a complete investigation of Tiller and to overhaul its policy on oversight of post-viable abortions. 

 

January 8, 2008—Wichita Eagle--The citizen-petitioned grand jury is impaneled to begin the investigation of George Tiller’s post-viable abortion practices.  Kansans for Life called for a special prosecutor instead of District Attorney Nola Foulston’s office.  The grand jury has 15 members who will serve a 3 month term which can be extended if needed.  Chief District Judge Michael Corrigan will oversee the process.  Retired Sedgwick County Chief Judge Paul Buchanan will select and instruct the grand jury, provide legal opinions when asked and supervise.

 

January 2008—Wichita Eagle—The grand jury heard testimony from David Gittrich of Kansans for Life and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue.  Tiller’s attorneys denounced the grand jury investigation contending it has been “poisoned” by the testimonies.

 

January 24, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Judge Buchanan ordered Tiller to turn over the records subpoenaed by the grand jury after Tiller’s attorneys argued to quash the subpoenas.  The grand jury had asked for names and addresses for employees and physicians who performed abortions, names of physicians who offered services as referring physicians and information on counseling services at Tiller’s facility along with patient records. 

 

January 29,2008—Wichita Eagle—Two subpoenas were issued last week for records of some 2,000 women who sought abortions over the past five years who were over 21 weeks pregnant.  The records were to be redacted (all names and identifying information was to be removed) and are due by February 1.

 

January 28, 2008—Tiller’s attorneys filed a motion to stop or limit the production of patient records for the grand jury.

 

January 31, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Judge Buchanan rejected Tiller’s attorneys motion to stop production of patient records and ordered Tiller to turn over the records with “all deliberate speed”.  Lee Thompson told Judge Buchanan he will file an immediate appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court.

 

February 1, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Tiller’s attorneys will appear today before Judge Buchanan to seek further privacy protections on the subpoenaed abortion records.  They also are rushing to appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court to quash the subpoenas for records and to disband the grand jury.

 

February 6, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Kansas Supreme Court postponed the subpoenas of records.  Chief Justice Kay McFarland said it raises “significant issues” of patient privacy and a grand jury’s authority to issue subpoenas.

 

 

February 6, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Kansas Supreme Court agreed to Tiller’s demand to halt all medical record transfers requested by the grand jury.  Chief Justice Kay McFarland said it raises “significant issues” of patient privacy and a grand jury’s authority to issue subpoenas.  The Court also required grand jury judges (Buchanan and Corrigan) to submit a written objection to the Court’s intervention by February 11.  In addition, they will need to submit a written rebuttal by February 25 to Tiller’s “mandamus” (demand) that the grand jury be disbanded altogether.  The Center for Reproductive Rights also filed a petition with the Court seeking to quash the subpoenas based on privacy issues.

 

February 7, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Two subpoenas were served on February 5 to Attorney General Stephen Six by the grand jury.  One seeks records of 60 patients from Tiller’s clinic in the possession of the Attorney General’s office.  The other seeks copies of testimony provided to the Attorney General’s office from another physician who provided a second opinion for some of Tiller’s post-viable abortion patients.  Six said he is responding to the testimony request but is evaluating his response to the records request based on the Kansas Supreme Court’s order to block the grand jury subpoenas for records. 

 

February 16, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Attorney General Stephen Six asked the Kansas Supreme Court to quash the subpoena requesting records of 60 patients from Tiller’s clinic in the possession of the Attorney General’s office as part of an earlier investigation.  Six said the records are covered by the Kansas Supreme Court’s order to postpone them. 

 

February 20, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Kansas Supreme Court ruled to delay the enforcement of a subpoena of records from Attorney General Stephen Six’s office.  Tiller’s attorneys are also arguing that the citizen-petitioned grand jury is unconstitutional because it interferes with the law enforcement powers of the executive branch (under which the Attorney General’s office operates).

 

March 1, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Kansas Supreme Court said it will hear arguments on April 8 in three cases challenging subpoenas for patient records from Tiller’s clinic.  It also kept its order blocking enforcement of the subpoenas and ordered the two judges handling the grand jury proceedings not to issue any additional subpoenas for patient records.  It is rare for the court to have a special session like this for a single case.  The grand jury’s 90 day life is due to expire on April 8 also, unless the overseeing judges extend it.

 

April 2, 2008—Associated Press—Tiller’s attorneys asked the Sedgwick County court to admonish grand jurors investigating Tiller to avoid advertisements including the “Is Tiller above the Law?  peoplearewatching.com” billboard and radio ads from pro-life groups.  Judge Paul Buchanan denied the motion saying Tiller lacked standing to raise the argument.

 

Week of April 1-4, 2008—Wichita Eagle--Judge Paul Buchanan extended the grand jury term by an additional 90 days until July 7.

 

April 9, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments from all sides yesterday in a rare special session as it considered Tiller’s request to block a grand jury’s request for medical records.

 

April 22, 2008—Wichita Eagle—Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill aimed at strengthening post-viable abortion laws.  Pro-life legislators are planning to attempt to override the veto during the wrap-up session April 30.  The bill would allow family members of a woman to sue if they thought a doctor had performed or was about to perform an illegal post-viable abortion, would help prevent coerced abortions (especially for minors that may be victims of abuse), would increase the information women had before an abortion, would increase reporting on KDHE forms, and would help district attorneys and the attorney general in prosecuting reported violations of the law.

 

After several attempts to override the veto of Gov. Sebelius, the legislature was unable to pass any new post-viable abortion law in the 2008 session.

 

May 7, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the citizen-petitioned grand jury is constitutional and can proceed with its investigation of abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller.  They also declined to quash or modify the subpoenas issued by the grand jury.  But it sent the case back to district court and set guidelines for the presiding judge to use to determine if and how the subpoenas should be enforced.  The guidelines instruct the judge to consider the competing interests of the state and the patients in deciding how patient records are released to the grand jury.

 

May 9, 2008—Wichita Eagle—The Sedgwick County district judge overseeing the grand jury, Judge Paul Buchanan, said that a citizens grand jury investigating George Tiller may have to issue new subpoenas for patient records.  Prosecutor Ann Swegle of the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, who is advising the grand jury, told the judge the panel would agree to seek a sampling of 50 records per year for the past five years.  Buchanan said he would privately meet with Swegle to determine the scope of the grand jury investigation, before deciding which records were relevant to the inquiry.