Olathe, Kansas – Planned Parenthood is still refusing to honor a subpoena issued by a citizen-called grand jury in Johnson County, Kansas, for 16 abortion records that have had patient identifying information removed, despite reports to the contrary.
An agreement between Planned Parenthood and the special counsel for the grand jury was reached last Tuesday to provide some or part of the records. However, that agreement was rejected by the grand jury as being inadequate, and Judge Patrick Moriarty officially revoked the agreement on Friday.
District Attorney Phill Kline issued a statement indicating he was pleased that the agreement had been nullified, and noting that he looked forward to reviewing the documents Planned Parenthood offered to provide to see if they comply with the subpoena.
Planned Parenthood made numerous statements in the media, which circulated over the weekend, saying the records dispute was resolved, when in fact, it is not.
“This is another example of Planned Parenthood saying one thing and doing another,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “The records in question have already been reviewed by a judge, who certified it is impossible to identify patients from the redacted records. If Planned Parenthood really wanted to comply with the subpoena, they would have done so long ago. This is just another devious effort to confuse the public, to delay the investigation, and to hide evidence from the grand jury. Only people with a lot to hide act this way.”
Operation Rescue is a member of the L.I.F.E. Coalition that led the petition effort to convene the grand jury. Other coalition members are Concerned Women For America and Women Influencing the Nation.