Clinic gave illegal abortions, charges say

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Planned Parenthood clinic was charged Wednesday with providing unlawful abortions and other crimes by a county prosecutor who had engaged in a high-profile battle with the clinic when he was Kansas attorney general.

Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline charged the Overland Park, Kan., clinic with 107 counts, 23 of them felonies. Besides 29 misdemeanor counts of providing unlawful late-term abortions, the clinic is charged with multiple counts of making a false writing, failure to maintain records and failure to determine viability.

The first hearing is set for Nov. 16.

Peter Brownlie, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri’s president and chief executive officer, said Wednesday that the group hasn’t had any contact with the district attorney’s office but has heard rumors for months that Kline, an abortion opponent, was planning to file criminal charges.

“I’ve heard nothing at all about specific charges that have been filed,” Brownlie said. “We always provide high-quality care in full accord with state and federal law.”

As for allegations that Planned Parenthood performed illegal late-term abortions, Brownlie said its clinic doesn’t perform any abortions past the 22nd week of pregnancy.

Attorney General Paul Morrison previously reviewed all of the allegations upon which Kline’s criminal charges are based and found no wrongdoing, Morrison spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett said.

“We are skeptical that these charges have any merit, and we continue to wonder how much politics influenced Mr. Kline’s decision to file these charges,” Anstaett said.

As attorney general, Kline fought for two years to get abortion records from the Overland Park clinic and a Wichita clinic operated by Dr. George Tiller. He said he was investigating whether clinic doctors performed illegal abortions and failed to report suspected child abuse; the clinics alleged he was on a “fishing expedition.”

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