Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline’s “Kiss and Tell” Law goes before Appeals Court

WHAT: Oral argument in Aid for Women v. Foulston will be heard at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

The Tenth Circuit will review the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas’ July 2004 decision, temporarily blocking the reporting of consensual sexual activity between teens by health care providers and counseling professionals to child services. The original challenge against the law was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of obstetricians and gynecologists, registered nurses, psychologists, social workers, a family practice physician, a sex education teacher, and a perinatologist.

Bonnie Scott Jones of the Center for Reproductive Rights will present oral argument.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) Aid for Women v. Foulston is second on the agenda.

WHERE: Byron White U.S. Courthouse, 1823 Stout Street, Courtroom II, Denver, CO.

BACKGROUND: 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. 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 for Reproductive Rights 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. Read more >>