Kan. AG Resists Grand Jury Subpoena for Patient Records of Dr. Tiller

AP: Kan. AG Resists Grand Jury Subpoena, by John Hanna:

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorney General Stephen Six wants the state's highest court to block a grand jury's subpoena for patient records and other evidence in the investigation of a prominent abortion provider.

Six asked the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday to quash the subpoena or at least temporarily block its enforcement. The grand jury demanded the records of 60 patients from Dr. George Tiller's clinic in Wichita, which the attorney general's office had obtained as part of an earlier investigation.

Attorneys for Tiller, one of the few U.S. physicians who performs late-term abortions, already have asked the Supreme Court to block three other subpoenas that the doctor received from the grand jury. One of them seeks the records of about 2,000 patients from Tiller's clinic.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the subpoenas to Tiller couldn't be enforced until the justices decide whether to quash them. The court said Tiller's legal challenge raised "significant issues" about the grand jury's authority and patients' privacy.