Kansas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Grand Jury Probing Abortion Provider

The state of Kansas has a provision that requires a grand jury to be summoned in a county upon a petition of 100 plus 2% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the county in the last election. (K.S.A. § 22-3001). Following the lead of Sedgwick County citizens, a coalition of anti-abortion groups has just filed a petition to impanel a grand jury in Johnson County, Kansas to investigate whether a Planned Parenthood clinic has violated the state's abortion law. (Background). Meanwhile, according to the Kansas City Star, on Friday the Kansas Supreme Court issued an order temporarily blocking the Sedgwick County grand jury convened in this manner from proceeding. Wichita abortion provider George Tiller, the object of the investigation, alleged that the proceedings amount to harassment. The Supreme Court ordered two Sedgwick County judges to respond to Tiller's petition to the Supreme Court.