Almost three years after charges were filed, jury selection in a criminal case against Wichita late-term abortionist George Tiller is scheduled to begin Monday, and opening arguments will begin a week later, a court clerk told Kansas Liberty Thursday.

The court spokesperson said Sedgwick County District Court Judge Clark V. Owens, who will preside over the case, had not indicated how long the proceeding might last.

As lawyers prepared for their courtroom battle, a patient was whisked from Tiller's clinic to a Wichita-area emergency room Thursday afternoon. Operation Rescue volunteers were on the scene. The pro-life organization released a statement saying, "The patient was rushed into the emergency room with her head covered."

A few minutes later, Tiller slipped into the hospital through a side entrance. The patient's condition is not known.

Tiller is charged with 19 counts of failing to get an unaffiliated physician to concur that late-term abortions were medically necessary before performing abortions, as required by Kansas law. Of the 19 misdemeanor counts, 13 were related to late-term abortions performed on girls younger than 18, including one involving a 10-year-old.

According to the criminal complaints, in each of the 19 cases, the fetuses were described as viable, meaning they were capable of living outside the womb.

Tiller’s lawyers have peppered the court with requests to have evidence suppressed or the case dismissed, but Owens has declined their motions.

The criminal case grew out of an investigation launched by then-Attorney General Phill Kline. Charges were filed in June 2007 by his successor in that office, Paul Morrison. The case is now being prosecuted by the office of Morrison’s successor, Steve Six.

Operation Rescue has said it plans to hold prayer vigils outside the courthouse for the duration of the trial, starting with jury selection on Monday.

“Perhaps the most important prayers we will offer will be for jury selection since these are the people who will ultimately make the very important decision based on the evidence,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman in a release posted on the group’s website.

But some pro-life activists weren't holding their breath. 

"Excuse my cynicism, but this state is so corrupt that I have no confidence that Tiller will be found guilty of being illegally and financially affiliated to Neuhaus [a physician Tiller alleges had no association with his clinic], despite the fact that her annual license renewal gives a P.O. Box as her office address, her entire annual income during the year in question came from 'consultations,' eyewitnesses saw her at Tiller's several days each week and she drives a car reportedly formerly owned by Tiller," said Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life.

"And meanwhile today," Culp added, "another ambulance took another young woman to the hospital, but the KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) will never know that because the abortion clinic licensing bills that required they be informed within 10 days of any injuries and within 24 hours of any deaths were vetoed by the woman who may be confirmed as the nation's next top public-health official."

Culp's reference is to Sebelius, who has been nominated to become secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Resources:

• Operation Rescue's coverage of the Tiller incident Thursday evening.
• Kansans for Life website: http://www.kfl.org

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