First Posted: November 13, 2011
Topeka, Kan. — A big part of what's thought to be the nation's first criminal case against a Planned Parenthood clinic collapsed after Kansas prosecutors concluded document shredding by state officials made it too difficult for them to walk jurors through allegations that the clinic falsified reports on patients' abortions.
Two state agencies, during administrations of Democrats who supported abortion rights, destroyed records prosecutors came to see as crucial evidence. Planned Parenthood officials believe the disclosures unfairly overshadowed serious weaknesses in the case against the clinic. Abortion opponents see events as part of the legacy of a persistent nemesis, former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, now U.S. health and human services secretary.
The resulting dismissal last week of the most serious charges facing Planned Parenthood's clinic in Overland Park will keep abortion issues roiling in state politics. A new, state-requested investigation will examine whether officials broke any laws in shredding different sets of records in 2005 and 2009.
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An AP News Analysis
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The clinic still faces 58 misdemeanor charges accusing it of performing illegal abortions and failing to comply with restrictions on late-term procedures, which it denies. But 23 of the 49 charges dismissed last week by District Judge Stephen Tatum were felonies, and all those he counts were tied to allegations the clinic created false copies of reports on individual abortions performed in 2003.
"We are left with no other alternative," current District Attorney Steve Howe said in seeking the dismissal of the charges.
Kansas law required Planned Parenthood to compile a report on each abortion it performed, send it to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and keep a copy in the Overland Park clinic's file. Clinic attorneys have said repeatedly it complied fully.
Then-Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, a Republican abortion opponent, launched an investigation into abortion providers in 2003, over months after taking office. The following year, with his investigation ongoing and supervised by a Shawnee County judge, he obtained copies of thousands of reports on individual abortions from the state health department.
Sometime in 2005 — Howe's office said in a court filing that the exact timing isn't certain — the health department shredded its copies reports on abortions filed in 2003, including Planned Parenthood's.
State law declares that records of "enduring value" should be stored to allow permanent preservation, but disposing of other, old records promotes "economy and efficiency" in government operations. Planned Parenthood attorneys have noted that a schedule set by state regulations allowed its abortion reports to be shredded.
State Archivist Matt Veatch, who sits on a board setting records policies, said only a small percentage of records are seen as worth preserving permanently, particularly given limited storage space. Speaking generally, he said schedules for destroying records are discretionary, setting a minimum period they must be preserved and allowing an agency to keep documents longer if it wishes.
Irigonegaray said the health department did nothing wrong in destroying old papers on schedule because, "It's housekeeping."
Planned Parenthood clinic's remained under investigation at the time. Also, Howe said in court last month that some abortion reports, from the late Dr. George Tiller's clinic in Wichita, also under investigation, were preserved into 2010.
The health department's secretary in 2005 was appointed by Sebelius, who left the governor's office in 2009. An HHS spokesman in Washington said in an email last week that Sebelius has "no knowledge" of matters involving the Planned Parenthood case. The health department, citing the criminal case, declined a request from The Associated Press last month to release a memo to Howe about the shredding.
In 2006, with Kline's investigation of providers still ongoing, the clinic produced yet another set of the same reports to the Shawnee County judge supervising the attorney general's work... read more at source: TheRepublic
