TOPEKA, Kan. – A Kansas prosecutor on Friday dropped all remaining criminal charges against a Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood clinic accused of performing illegal abortions, ending what was believed to be the first attempt in the U.S. to prosecute a facility affiliated with the group.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced that 32 misdemeanor charges against the clinic had been dismissed. Those charges were the last part of a criminal case filed in 2007 by Howe’s predecessor. Howe said his decision to end the case came after consulting Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. All three are Republicans.
“It is an unfortunate conclusion that I don’t think is going to satisfy anybody, but that is the reality of what we have to deal with today,” Howe said during a news conference at his office at the courthouse in Olathe. “But ultimately, the decision should be about the law and the evidence.”
The remaining charges dealt with allegations that the clinic had violated a state law that restricted late-term abortions after a fetus was viable, or could survive outside the womb. The clinic was accused of not properly determining whether a fetus was viable, but Howe said “extensive research” by his office led it to conclude the clinic had met the tests spelled out in the law.
Pedro Irigonegaray, a Topeka attorney representing the clinic, praised the decision: “Finally, the truth comes out.”