Ideological purity comes with a high price in Kansas.
Monday, the office of Attorney General Derek Schmidt revealed it had spent $597,000 through March on outside lawyers hired to defend the anti- abortion laws.
It paid a Wichita law firm $317,000 helping defend (the indefensible) budget provi- sion denying federal family planning dollars for non-abortion family planning dollars for non-abortion services to Planned Parenthood. A Lawrence law firm received a whopping $177,000 to help de- fend health and safety regulations for abortion providers.
The regulations, actually writ- ten to close the clinics, were challenged by two Kansas City- area physicians in federal and state courts.
The same firm got a Kansas government check for $104,000 to fight an American Civil Liberties lawsuit challenging a state law restricting private insurance coverage of elective abortions.
These are dollars, dear readers, that could have been spent educating kids, treating the sick, assisting the disabled or sprucing up a Kansas park. Think about it. Express your thoughts to your governor.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
