George Tiller The Baby-Killer Update

For Kansans, here's an update on a major local trial:

The trial of late-term abortion doc George Tiller should go to the jury sometime today in Wichita. For Kansans who have read and heard about Tiller for years — and especially for pro-life conservatives, for whom Tiller has been the poster-boy not just of near-birth abortions but of political corruption as well — wrap of the case probably comes as a climax of sorts. Their hope is that a jury will finally put a stop to his barbaric practices.

The secondary complaint about Tiller has always been his ability to use political connections to avoid the enforcement of state regulations governing late-term abortions (the fact that he does them at all is the primary gripe, of course). His direct and indirect financial support of Kathleen Sebelius, combined with a judicial selection process that is completely opaque and deeply political, bought him years of immunity and reduced the state's late-term abortion law to a statutory wink. The laws were there, but enforcing them was not an option.

That changed when an activist pro-life Attorney General, Phill Kline, was elected in Kansas in 2002. Conservatives almost never win statewide office in Kansas (Brownback is the only other); the state is run by a coalition of "moderate" (read center-left) Republicans and Democrats. In taking on Tiller, Kline took on the political establishment in Kansas, most notably Sebelius's political coalition and the once-powerful Kansas City Star, a paper so devoted to the cause of unrestricted abortion that it used to accept awards from Planned Parenthood for its unstinting adoration of "the right to choose," no matter why, when, or by whom that choice is made.

He also made powerful enemies, of course, and was ultimately destroyed, politically and financially. Although he's now teaching law in Virginia, they pursue him still. But on his way out, he launched a couple of investigations, including the one that has brought Tiller to court. If it goes badly, pro-life advocates may wish he hadn't.

Kline's successor, Paul Morrison, was recruited by Sebelius to run the Attorney General's office in a Tiller-friendly fashion. He successfully tossed many of the charges Tiller would have faced under Kline, but because not all of the lower-court judges are Sebelius loyalists, the "technical" misdemeanors with which Tiller's been charged — conducting late-term abortions without getting a supporting opinion from another doctor with whom he has no legal or financial association — somehow survived.

That's either a miracle or a black-chopper plot, considering Morrison, who resigned in a sex scandal, was replaced when Sebelius appointed another avidly pro-choice Attorney General, Steve Six. The governor, one of the most aggressive supporters of abortion in the country (and soon to be HHS secretary), thus has a great deal of say over this process. In Kansas, much of the judiciary is under the control of the governor through a closed-door appointment process unlike any in any other state.

I've spoken to several people who are very close to this case, and the expectation is that Tiller will be acquitted.

The state's lackadaisal case, one knowledgeable observer said, was "embarrassing." The state assigned a single prosecutor to the case. Tiller has a five-member team, including a former U.S. Attorney. The state called one witness — Kristin Neuhaus, the doctor who signed off on Tiller's near-birth abortions. She was given immunity by Six and, not surprisingly, was an extremely hostile witness. The prosecution, over which Six can exert direct control, had available "reams of documents" dealing with the case and didn't use them. Tiller's accountant wasn't even called. Ironically, as more than one trial-follower noted, the only thing that might convict Tiller is the statements he made himself when he was, perhaps unwisely, asked by his defense team to take the stand himself. There, he let slip that Neuhaus worked for him and was part of his "organization" — before quickly correcting himself.

One person described has described it as a "show trial." The person meant it literally, that it was just for show, so that Tiller's supporters can say he got his day in court and won. That's the conspiracy theory. One insider said that Tiller's acquittal, if it comes later today, "would devastate the effort to enforce abortion laws in Kansas for years, decades. Those illegal abortions will go on forever, and the whole thing will be blown up in the press as a 'witch hunt' launched by Phill Kline.'" The whole thing, another insider said, "was a lay-down. The Attorney General is hoping he doesn't win this case."

So that's bad. Worse is what will happen to the other prosecution that, thanks to a brave district court judge, wouldn't go away: Planned Parenthood has been charged with falsifying documents, apparently as a way of justifying not reporting illegal abortions, including those done on children as young as 12, 13, 14. There are, I'm told, thousands of these, and "every single one is a sex crime" that will never be prosecuted. Tiller's acquittal will make a successful prosecution of Planned Parenthood virtually impossible.

Pro-life activists of the street-demo variety have been all over the trial, even as most regional newspapers have avoided covering it, relying on AP reports. Online news-site Kansas Liberty has been attentive. More strategically-minded activists have been maintaining a pretty thoughtful vigil, hopeful of a conviction, but realistic at the same time.

Just keeping you up to date.  We'll see what happens with the verdict.

***UPDATE***
Looks like Tiller was found not guilty on all charges.

There's my two cents.