Posted on 06/20/2003 5:39:19 AM PDT by TroutStalker
Were you not formerly known as "One Particular Harbour"?
Here's a clue for the mister hendricks: if an abortion is performed on a female under the age of sixteen, at least one individual human being is targeted for death at the hands of a serial killer (the abortionist) and the older individual is at risk of complications fromt he 'surgery'. If that by God is not evidence of abuse of at least one individual human life (and likely at least two), mister hendricks is a god-king.
Let me guess, both guests took the liberal view?
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/local/states/kansas/counties/johnson_county/cities_neighborhoods/olathe/6161860.htm
Posted on Wed, Jun. 25, 2003
Guest Column: Kline slips his agenda into legal opinion
When people are barred from getting in through the front door, they often try to sneak in the back. That applies to a burglar breaking into your house -- and a politician trying to bend the laws to fit his or her personal agenda.
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline recently released a legal opinion that makes me wonder if he's trying to sneak his agenda through the back door.
Kline, an opponent of abortion, stated last week that abortion providers should notify the state when girls younger than 16 seek the procedure. Such cases constitute evidence of abuse, Kline wrote in a legal opinion, because Kansas laws ban sexual relations involving young teens.
Therefore, according to Kline, anyone younger than 16 who is pregnant must be a potential victim of abuse, which must be reported. On the surface, this sounds logical. But the true ramifications of Kline's opinion go much deeper.
It all started when another staunch opponent of abortion, state Sen. Mark Gilstrap of Kansas City, asked the attorney general to opine on what circumstances a doctor who performs abortions would have to report suspicions that a minor was a victim of sexual abuse or rape.
Kansas already has a straightforward law requiring doctors to report suspected sexual abuse, so the question was a no-brainer.
What Gilstrap did, however, was throw open the back door to let Kline race in. The attorney general took a well-intended state law and twisted it.
According to Kline's response, a young girl seeking an abortion, even with state-required parental notification, must now contend with the doctor reporting her to state officials so they can investigate for sexual abuse.
Kline has hyped his opinion as a stand against abuse. In reality, he is sneaking his well-publicized personal agenda through the back door.
Carrying Kline's logic -- or illogic -- further, anyone younger than 16 in Kansas who ends up pregnant is guilty of breaking a state law. There are no gray areas when it comes to pregnancy. You're either pregnant or you're not, and if you are, then you must be guilty. The baby's father is guilty, too. And they could be investigated for sexual abuse.
Does this also mean that a drug store cashier must notify the state sex police when a 15-year-old boy heeds the much-publicized campaigns about safe sex and attempts to purchase condoms? Does a pharmacist call the sex police when a 15-year-old girl attempts to fill her prescription for birth-control pills?
Is a teacher supposed to contact the sex police if he suspects a student younger than 16 of having sex? My wife teaches junior high, and she would probably end up reporting a high percentage of her students to the state.
And Kline's opinion certainly discourages young people from seeing their doctor if they suspect they have a sexually transmitted disease. Following Kline's logic, they could be subjected to an investigation of sexual abuse.
The state's social services employees are already overworked and have a difficult enough time keeping up with true abuse of our children. Kline apparently wants to dump 15-year-olds with overactive hormones into the laps of state investigators, too. Under the cover of protecting children from sexual abuse, Kline's anti-abortion agenda sneaks in through the back door.
Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I trust those who are open and honest about their opinions and agendas. Kline, in my opinion, is being neither open nor honest.
Instead of touting his strong stand against child abuse, Kline should admit that he's trying to prevent abortions. Equally important, Kline should think through the vast ramifications of his legal opinion instead of putting on blinders and looking only at his personal agenda.
Steve Eddy is a former Olathe City Council member and president of a local security company. Send your thoughts to olathecomments@kcstar.com .
By LAURA SCOTT
The Kansas City Star
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline is one of those masterful politicians who can make his point of view sound right, even though he is dead wrong.
Take the latest example. Advised, no doubt, by his anti-abortion hires in the attorney general's office, Kline has issued a legal opinion that makes it appear he is protecting teenagers from rapists and abusers.
But he really is trying to discourage young women from seeking abortions. And, whether intended or not, his opinion will also discourage sexually active teenagers from seeking birth control or medical care for sexually transmitted diseases.
Kline's interpretation of Kansas law is that doctors -- and other health care professionals and school officials -- must report evidence of teenagers having sex to the authorities as child abuse.
He relies on a Kansas law that says even consensual sex with a child younger than 16 is a crime. So, if it is criminal, the opinion goes, it constitutes abuse that must be reported, as required by law. His opinion affects anyone who is mandated by law to report indications of abuse.
Medical professionals say their practice has been to report evidence of legitimate abuse, as they are required to do.
Kline's opinion likely would make many young people decide not to seek medical care because they would fear it no longer would be treated confidentially. It also would jeopardize parents' involvement in their sexually active children's choices. Kids won't want to tell if they know a state child-abuse investigator will be on their doorstep if they do.
State Sen. David Adkins, a Leawood Republican, says the ruling even puts at risk parents who take their teenager to a doctor for treatment of a sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy. They potentially could be charged with conspiracy or obstruction of justice for trying to destroy evidence of a crime, he says.
That is how far some "creative prosecutors with an evangelical bent" may take Kline's interpretation of Kansas law, Adkins says.
It is difficult to find fault with the rationale that many teenagers are victims even when they consent to sex. This had to be the thinking of Kansas lawmakers when they passed the statutory rape law.
Teenage girls often are manipulated by older men who seek sexual favors, for instance. If a 29-year-old man is having sex with a 14-year-old girl, isn't that child abuse? Many of us would say yes.
But what about consensual sex between two teenagers? And what about cases where a girl gets pregnant and her parents do not want her to continue the pregnancy? (Kansas law requires parental notification before a minor can have an abortion).
In a letter to the Editorial Board of this newspaper, Kline defended himself.
"I am not seeking to prosecute consensual teen sex, nor do I have the resources to focus on such conduct," he wrote. "This does not change, however, that Kansas law makes such conduct illegal..."
Some say his arguments make a case for changing the statutory rape law. But that might not be a good idea. Sexual exploitation of children should be against the law. In cases of consensual teen sex, the question for most people is the age of the sex partner, which is a factor that's difficult to legislate.
Kline says that the law already provides lesser penalties if a teenager is the perpetrator.
Unfortunately, Kansas may need a judicial ruling on whether the law says abuse cases must be reported when there is reason to suspect that a child has been "injured." Or whether it means what Phill Kline says it does.
One thing is certain: If everyone follows the attorney general's line on this, increased numbers of sexually active young people will avoid adult guidance and help.
The result will be more unwanted teenage pregnancies and more children giving birth to children. Talk about child abuse. That can't be what most Kansans want.
To reach Laura Scott, assistant editorial page editor, call (816) 234-4452 or send e-mail to lascott@kcstar.com .
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