By GARY DEMUTH
Salina Journal
Kansas State Attorney General Paul Morrison's decision Thursday to file charges against Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller comes as a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, to Salinan Clarke Sanders.
Sanders, president of the anti-abortion group Salinans for Life, said Morrison's move was unexpected because of his political history.
"(Morrison) has been known as a pro-choice candidate with a lot of campaign contributors from the pro-choice movement," Sanders said. "We in the pro-life community didn't expect anything out of him. I'll be interested in Tiller's response."
Nineteen misdemeanor charges were filed against Tiller, which includes the "technical violation" of not using a financially and legally independent doctor to provide a second opinion required under Kansas law for some late-term abortions.
If convicted of all charges, Tiller could be sentenced to up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine on each charge.
Sanders said that while he finds it hard to imagine the pro-choice Morrison has had a change of heart, any charge filed against Tiller is better than nothing.
"Maybe (Morrison) understands that some things aren't politically defensible," Sanders said. "The taking of human life, especially in the third trimester of a pregnancy, is just wrong, and I think the majority of the country agrees with that position now."
Tiller, according to Sanders, has been circumventing the law long enough.
"He hasn't been operating his clinic in accordance with Kansas laws," he said. "He's trying to circumvent the law mandating the reporting of abortions by consulting a doctor who will just give him a supporting opinion."
Marla Patrick, Lindsborg, Kansas State coordinator for the National Organization of Women, said Tiller will have his day in court and should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
"(Dr. Tiller) has provided throughout his career a service that many women have needed," she said. "It's a woman's right to have access to safe and legal abortions, and they should have the options available that abortion providers can give them."
Unfortunately, she said, the charges against Tiller may be touted as a political victory by pro-lifers.
Didn't go far enough
Salinan for Life member Norbert Hermes doesn't feel victorious. He said Morrison didn't go far enough.
"Maybe he's just pushing these minor charges just to say he pursued it, trying to relieve some of the pressure from pro-life people," Hermes said. "I think he's trying to downplay it, to make it seem less serious than it is. But life is important, and I don't think it should be trivialized.
Tiller's won favor with many people, "especially with the hundreds of thousands of dollars he's contributed to their elections or re-elections. I'm not sure this will have much of an effect on him."
Although she is a strong supporter of a woman's right to choose, Teresa Loffer, president of the McPherson County National Organization of Women, believes Morrison looked objectively at the case in good faith and made the decision he felt appropriate.
"I don't believe that Morrison simply made a charge to appease anti-choice groups," she said. "It has been the anti-choice's short-term goal to vilify Dr. Tiller, but their end objective is to end reproductive choice access for all women."
nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at sjgdemuth@saljournal.com.
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