Reply #4: wait. wait. wait. Kansas. Hhhmmmmmm . . .

[TaleWgnDg]

It's gotta be related to abortion (read: prevention). Indeed. So, let's report all minors who have sexual intercourse. Now. Which of these kids will seek medical assistance for diseases? sexual battering? or anything that involves sex? Nada. None. What will that do, in turn, to the health of kids in Kansas?

Can these Kansas Neanderthals in the state legislature not see the woods for the tree? Is vote appeasement that important in Kansas. Has no one a spine in Kansas? WTF?

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edited to add: And, oh yeah, BTW, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals doesn't have a very good record in ruling sanely on these issues about sex, abortion, and the health of minors.

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edited again to add:

What's the Matter with Kansas?
Why "Kiss and Tell" makes for very bad law . . .


The Center’s case against an outrageous Kansas law is going to trial on January 30th in Wichita. In 2003, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline issued a new interpretation of the state’s child-abuse reporting law, requiring that doctors, school counselors and psychotherapists, among others, report sexual activity involving a teen younger than 16 as evidence of child abuse, even if the activity is with another adolescent. The law is so broad it would even require a psychologist to report a teen who disclosed that she was "making out" with her boyfriend. On October 3, 2003, the Center filed a lawsuit challenging the attorney general’s opinion on behalf of a group of health-care providers and counseling professionals. The plaintiffs argue that the attorney general’s interpretation violates adolescents’ right to informational privacy and deters adolescents from seeking confidential health care or counseling. "Reporting all teen sexual activity violates adolescents’ privacy rights. This "kiss and tell" law does nothing to address real abuse of children," says Bonnie Scott Jones, Center attorney. The Kansas law is part of a trend by the anti-choice movement to use child-abuse reporting laws to scare adolescents away from reproductive health care.
http://www.crlp.org/crt_news_adolescents.html
(Center for Reproduction Rights website has court documents and further storyline)

PBS NOW did a special on this issue, June 29, 2005 . . . What's the Matter with Kansas? . . . http://www.pbs.org/now/thisweek/index_072905.html

This week (June 29, 2005) on NOW:
In a controversial reading of the state's statutory rape law, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has pushed to mandate reporting of any sexual activity of people under the age of 16 and subpoenaed medical records of abortion patients. Kline maintains he just wants to enforce the law and protect children, but critics charge that he's attacking a woman's right to an abortion and putting more kids at risk. NOW examines Kline's policies, which have made Kansas ground-zero for the reproductive rights debate in America. The report looks at both sides of the issue and at the implications for the nation. http://www.pbs.org/now/thisweek/index_072905.html

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