By Kathy Ostrowski, Kansans for Life Legislative Director
Abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus
The Kansas state Healing Arts Board today reconvened proceedings to determine whether to revoke the already-restricted medical license of abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus. Attorneys for the state medical board and Neuhaus will reconvene for final arguments January 17.
It will then be up to the presiding officer to present his summary recommendations within 30 days to the Board for a vote in February.
The petition to revoke, filed in April of 2010, “accuses Neuhaus of negligence in conducting mental health exams for 11 patients, ages 10 to 18, who terminated pregnancies from July to November 2003,” according to the Associated Press’s John Hanna. “Neuhaus diagnosed the patients with acute anxiety, acute stress or single episodes of major depression, concluding their conditions met requirements in Kansas law for late-term abortions.”
Neuhaus approved those post-viability abortions at the Wichita clinic of the late George Tiller. However, the state law required independent referrals to verify that such abortions were obtained only to prevent the death of, or irreversible and substantial injury to, the mother.
All the 11 young women were in their sixth or seventh month of pregnancy when they met with Neuhaus at the Tiller facility. Neuhaus was never trained in any medical specialty, much less as a psychiatric consultant, and ended up utilizing an online ‘answer tree.’ Evidence from the patient files repeatedly indicated such diagnoses were logged in and completed within 2 to 3 minutes. Thus the teens were able to secure these abortion at a cost of $6,000 or more.
The only testimony today came from Neuhaus’ friend and sole professional witness, Dr. Allen Greiner, a family practice physician and professor at Kansas University.
There were no fireworks today, just a steady pounding by Board attorney Reese Hayes of the checklist of elements that were missing from Neuhaus’ patient interactions and files:
proper medical and mental health evaluations;
screening for medications and drugs;
treatment plan or follow up care referrals;
evidence she actually interacted with the teens and wrote down their thoughts;
symptoms and behaviors deserving the labels of major depression and anxiety disorders.
The files were redacted and no patient names have been discussed. There was only one Kansan– an eighteen year old sent from the Planned Parenthood of Kansas Mid-Missouri. Otherwise the girls had all been flown in: a 10-year from California and nine other minors from Canada, Illinois, New York and New Jersey.
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