The Kansas Supreme Court temporarily blocked the subpoena of Kansas State Attorney General Stephen Six’s office on Tuesday. The grand jury investigating Dr. George Tiller subpoenaed Six’s office earlier this month for medical records from about 60 of Dr. Tiller’s patients that the office obtained in a previous investigation, along with testimony provided by a doctor who gave a second opinion for some Tiller patients. Six himself fought the subpoena, asking the state’s Supreme Court to block it, according to the Associated Press.
The Court said that the concerns for patient privacy raised by the Attorney General were similar to those raised by Dr. Tiller after the grand jury subpoenaed medical records from his clinic, reports the Wichita Eagle. The Kansas Supreme Court temporarily blocked that subpoena earlier this month.
Dr. Tiller is one of the few late-term abortion providers available for women with troubled pregnancies and complicated health problems. This investigation was convened last month as the result of a petition drive led by the anti-abortion extremist group Operation Rescue. Kansas is one of six states that allow citizens to petition for a grand jury to convene. Previous investigations into Dr. Tiller’s clinic have not produced evidence of any wrong-doing.
