Tiller’s wife fights subpoena for abortion records

A lawyer for Jeanne Tiller, wife of a slain Wichita abortion doctor, filed a motion this afternoon to quash a subpoena for her late husband’s business records, sought by his accused killer, Scott Roeder.

Attorney Lee Thompson said in his motion that Roeder’s defense had requested “professional calendars, appointment books, records of scheduled procedures” from Tiller’s Women’s Health Services Clinic.

Roeder is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in Tiller’s shooting, May 31, inside the doctor’s church.

“The records sought contain personal, confidential and identifying information of women who sought constitutionally protected abortion services,” Thompson wrote in his brief.

Thompson also says the information is irrelevant to Roeder’s murder case.

Thompson said Jeanne Tiller received the subpoena last Thursday and served Roeder’s public defenders with objections over the weekend. Except for a personal datebook, Jeanne Tiller does not have records from the clinic, Thompson said. Those records are being held in a trust by his law firm, Thompson said.

Roeder’s defense said they will continue to pursue the records.

“What we’re going to do now is turn our efforts to getting the records from the medical trust,” said public defender Mark Rudy.

The defense has been seeking the records for months.

The defense previously had asked for similar information from the prosecution. But prosecutors said they didn’t have it, and the defense withdrew its request.

Rudy said the defense doesn’t plan to reveal any identities of women seeking abortions at Tiller’s clinic but aims to prove how many women could not receive abortions after Tiller’s shooting. Roeder has claimed he killed Tiller to protect the unborn.

The filing was the latest on the day Roeder’s trial was supposed to start. Earlier in the day, prosecutors made another effort to limit Roeder’s defense, delaying the start of jury selection for two days

  • janabanana

    This is sad and stupid. Roeder walked into a church on a Sunday, with witnesses all around and shot Tiller at point blank range. What does his business records have to do with it? Roeder’s lawyers are grandstanding.

  • martymoose

    The last thing we need is all the personal files of these women made public. I doubt that it will stay private after being turned over to the defense…all it takes is one leak to the press.

  • ruthiebear

    This information is not relevant to the trial. Please Trust Women to do the right thing.

  • letsgetreal

    Typical lawyers trying to muddy the truth – the man killed Dr. Tiller in cold blood.

  • parkay

    Evidence contained in abortion mill records that criminal abortionist quack Tiller intended to continue engaging in his flagrant violations of state laws and medical regulations in his profitable killings of viable human babies is critical to Roeder’s necessity defense.

  • ICTisInferior

    Tiller the Killer was a criminal who was telling underage girls to kill their babies in order to protect their rapists. Tiller was getting rich off of these vulnerable girls and terminating lives as well. I believe what Roeder did was dead wrong. But that doesn’t make anything Tiller did right, either.

  • ICTisInferior

    janabanana and ruthiebear support the murder of unborn babies

  • bth

    “Rudy said the defense doesn’t plan to reveal any identities of women seeking abortions at Tiller’s clinic”

    Sure … they just plan to give it to Bill O’Reilly and let HIM do it.

  • ERBY

    ICTisInferior – by your statement there this means that you support murder. So this means you’re not much better.

  • brian_nuevo

    “parkay Posted January 11, 2010 at 5:43 pm | Permalink …is critical to Roeder’s necessity defense.”

    you must have missed the fact that the necessity defense is not allowed in Kansas.

  • Chadington

    I wonder if God supports abortion? Since he’s a God that gives life and not death his creations should work in that same natural order. It’s selfish to kill an unborn child.

  • shockball

    SR is a POS.

  • curiousgeorge

    He didn’t stop women from having abortions by killing Dr.Tiller. The women went somewhere else to have the abortion done. It’s a legal procedure. To those against abortion, I challenge you to become a foster parent. After you’ve seen the abuse children have suffered at the hands of their own parents, you’ll realize some people just should not have children. God doesn’t sterilize them automatically, maybe if he would choose the ones who get the miracle of children, we would have no abortions.

  • Digger66

    Roeder didn’t save a single ‘baby’. All he did was force women to drive farther to get their abortion. Who is he trying to kid. When a women decides she wants an abortion, an extra three hour drive isn’t going to deter her. Get real.

  • Digger66

    ICT.you are informed or just a liar. In fact, it was just the opposite. Dr. Tiller often provided DNA evidence to law enforcement to put rapists and abusers away. He never murdered anyone and he and his wife took some women into their own home when they were too late for a legal abortion. He also arranged adoptions, but that fact is always ignored by the anti-rights liars.

  • Tully

    These scum just never stop, do they?

  • Luckyguy

    All we need is a good rope and hangin tree! There were some great things about the good ole days.

  • learner_teacher

    There are already far too many living babies and children whose parents don’t want them,infact, that no one really wants. Many children are; verbally, emotionally, mentally, physically, sexually abused and/or grossly neglected. What kind of life is that? We euthanize unwanted animals, and neuter animals we don’t want more of. This isn’t considered cruel or sinful, even for perfectly healthy animals, it’s considered necessary. But legal abortions are considered more sinful than bringing an unwanted baby into a world of pain and hate where many will die from; malnutrition, disease or injury as babies and young children. Yet saving babies and children from these killers is somehow less important to the same people who are so opposed to legal abortions. Amazing.

  • OwlGork

    “Trust women”

    Now that there’s funny, I don’t are who you are, that’s funny. Git ‘r dun!

  • learner_teacher

    Think how many children come into the world wanted, and then dad or mom gets unhappy in their marriage and tired of dealing with their responsibilities as a parent and leave the kids and the other spouse on their own and don’t even pay their child support. The murderer, Scott Roeder, who seeks fame for killing Dr. Tiller didn’t pay his child support and didn’t stop to think how his behaviour would affect his former wife and his own young son. For life, children require support. Roeder neglected to support his own and his only son. Is Roeder a man who should be judging others when he himself has not been the parent he should have been? Does Roeder’s murder of Dr. Tiller absolve him of his unwillingness to support his own child? Is it really a lesser sin to not support your own child? What would Jesus say?

  • Exwife

    Dear learner_teacher–your words are so very true. I have been a teacher for 30 years and have seen so many cases of neglect, physical, mental and emotional abuse. Children are the silent victims of so many horrific crimes. Parents that sometimes should never have been parents. I was reading these news articles and sobbing for what my ex has done to the Tiller Family and his own son. Thank you for speaking out.

  • martymoose

    We’ve got some seriously disturbed folks on this board… Happy that one man murdered another…sad…

  • ICTisInferior

    Digger, Bill O’Reilly exposed Tiller as a murderer who was protecting child rapists. You probably support the killing of unborn babies. I am sick and tired of the BULLSHIT propagated by the far left and the lovers of unborn baby murder. You are the scum of the earth. Roeder is scum, but so is Tiller the Killer.

  • God_Bless_Texas

    when are we putting a trail on for a guy that is guilty and admits it? Hang him and save the money.

  • GreatWhiteTruth

    ” I believe what Roeder did was dead wrong. But”

    Ahh, yet, the FAMOUS “BUT” of ANTI-CHOICE NAZIS, worst terrorists than Al Queda.

    FILTHY COWARDS like the poster of that gem are completely lacking in ethics, morals, decency and there only TRUE understanding of God will come as they enter the lowest depths of HELL as conspirators to murder

  • GreatWhiteTruth

    There is NO SUCH THING AS AN UNBORN BABY, therefore one cannot kill something that doesn’t exist.

    The THINGS that Dr. Tiller CLEANSED out of women are known as FTM’s or Fetal Tissue Masses. They are no more human than a large booger.

    They become HUMAN BABIES after they are born at full-term.

    Prior to that, it’s nobody’s business if they yank the FTM out, stick it on a pole and parade around town.

    In fact, I’d PAY to see that./

  • GreatWhiteTruth

    One of the FUNNIEST things I heard from an ANTI-CHOICE NAZI on these boards is a claim that Tiller protected CHILD-RAPISTS.

    Last I checked, it was the CATHOLIC CHURCH, including its sick twisted brain-washed parishioners who protected the largest ring of CHILD-RAPISTS and BABY-RAPERS the world has ever seen.

    Typical LOW-LIFE MURDER CONSPIRATORS like ICTisinferior

  • DorisV

    Sure, they won’t release any woman’s identity but they want records. This is just wrong.