What’s clear is that sex-reporting rules are unclear

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten expects to issue a ruling this week on whether Attorney General Phill Kline’s legal opinion is correct that doctors, counselors and school nurses must report to state authorities most sexual activity by teens under age 16, regardless of whether it is consensual. But making sense of the confusing, surreal testimony won’t be easy.
During the course of the trial, Kline said that, as far as reporting rules, it is probably OK for teen girls to perform oral sex on boys but not for boys to perform it on girls. One of his "expert" witnesses said that boys should be able to buy condoms but girls shouldn’t have access to birth control, and another said that it mattered whether a boy is black or white. Marten criticised them both for their "holier-than-thou approach" in saying that Kansas should report sexual activity that they don’t report in their own practices. And Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston went further than Kline, saying that fondling of female breasts must be reported — which caused Marten to note that even two of the state’s top law-enforcement officials don’t agree on what should be reported.
But, as Marten observed, one thing has become obvious about Kline’s opinion: “It is now clear that it is unclear.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

3 Comments

  1. kelly
    Posted February 12, 2006 at 11:24 am | Permalink

    I think it will be interesting to see what kind of reception Judge Marten’s ruling will receive. Even though he didn’t ask for this case to be brought to him, and despite the fact that 4 different Kansas public officials have given 4 different interpretations of what are the legal duties of a health care provider, I predict when Judge Martens straightens out this mess he will be accused of activism. His decision will certainly be appealed. But one thing we will know for sure – he is independent and beholding to no one for his economic security. Too bad we can’t say the same thing about some of the witnesses in this case.

  2. steve
    Posted February 12, 2006 at 11:26 am | Permalink

    Too bad Kline’s opinion can’t remain just that, his opinion.

  3. anon
    Posted February 12, 2006 at 12:52 pm | Permalink

    Now that we have attacked DR-patient confidentiality it is time to go after Priest-penetant. Priests should be required to report any crimes confessed to them to the authorities.