Feds want answers from Kansas abortion opponent
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to order a Kansas abortion opponent to answer the government's questions about her relationship with the man convicted in the murder of abortion provider George Tiller, including compelling her to admit to statements she made to The Associated Press in which she said she admired the then-accused killer.
The request comes amid legal wrangling in a civil lawsuit the Justice Department filed against Angel Dillard last year under a federal law aimed at protecting access to reproductive services. The government has accused Dillard of sending a threatening letter to a Wichita doctor who was training to offer abortion services in the wake of Tiller's 2009 death.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale on Thursday gave Dillard's attorney, Donald McKinney, until Wednesday to respond to the government's motion for a court order that would force Dillard to answer the questions. The defense has said the government's inquiries are irrelevant, with McKinney repeatedly balking at the government's demands for information and arguing they violate Dillard's First Amendment freedoms of association, free exercise of religion and free speech.
The attorney also has objected to the quotation, first reported in a 2011 AP story, calling it "inaccurate, taken out of context, and/or edited," according to court records.
The AP, which recorded the telephone interview with Dillard, stands by the accuracy of its reporting.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Feds-want-answers-from-Kansas-abortion-opponent-4077765.php#ixzz2DfHE3VdH
