Kansas Supreme Court Slams Kline

Court Requires Full Accounting of Records, but Stops Just Short of Holding Kline in Contempt

Overland Park, KS—Today, the Kansas Supreme Court roundly criticized Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline for his actions and those of his subordinates in his political crusade against Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Kansas & Mid-Missouri.  In one of its strongest rebukes, the Court’s said: “Kline exhibits little, if any, respect for the authority of this court or for his responsibility to it and to the rule of law it husbands. His attitude and behavior are inexcusable, particularly for someone who purports to be a professional prosecutor. It is plain that he is interested in the pursuit of justice only as he chooses to define it."

 “We are very pleased by the Court’s decision,” said Peter Brownlie, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.  “The Court confirms what Planned Parenthood has said all along: Phill Kline is a zealot pursuing a lawless prosecution and misusing the people’s trust to advance a radical anti-choice political agenda.  We are saddened and angered by the travesties recounted in the Court’s opinion, and we are grateful the Court rebuked him for his disgraceful acts.”

For more than four years, Planned Parenthood has fended off legal assaults by Phill Kline, which began when he was Kansas Attorney General.  Mr. Kline continued his witch hunt after the voters threw him out of the Attorney General’s office, when he was appointed Johnson County District Attorney.  The reasons Kline cited for “investigating” Planned Parenthood never masked his true intent—to wage an ideological battle from his elected position of power at the expense of Kansas taxpayers.

Kline has repeatedly demonstrated to women, and to the Kansas Supreme Court, that he cannot be trusted, and that he places his personal political ideology ahead of protecting private medical information.  The Court went so far as to say, “[d]espite Kline's repeated invocations of the importance of patient privacy, his conduct evidences little or no respect for it."

“This is and always has been about politics,” said Brownlie.  “Mr. Kline is a political zealot pursuing his anti-abortion agenda.  The Supreme Court decision plainly recognized this.   We now look forward finally to resolving the baseless criminal charges filed by Mr. Kline as part of his outrageous personal agenda.

###

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 700 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.