Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Policy Advisor, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue, info@operationrescue.org

TOPEKA, Kansas, Aug. 29 /Standard Newswire/ -- A special committee of the Kansas Legislature will begin hearing testimony Friday concerning late-term abortions and how they are reported, focusing on the lack of enforcement the Kansas post-viability abortion ban.

"We know that the Tiller acolytes and other abortion supporters will be up there attempting to convince the committee to dump the law or weaken it to the point of irrelevancy," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.

"We plan to be present at every day of the hearings to represent the interests of innocent viable babies who are at risk because the laws are not being properly enforced," said Newman. "Because lives are at stake, we cannot allow disinformation from the abortion cartel go unchallenged."

The hearings were prompted by charges of illegal abortions that were filed by two separate state attorneys general. While former AG Phill Kline's more serious charges were dropped on dubious jurisdictional grounds, they raised questions about how the law is being interpreted and enforced. Current Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison filed 19 charges against Tiller in June for committing illegal post-viability abortions by using as the required second signature an abortionist with whom he had financial ties.

The hearings, which will be chaired by pro-life Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, are scheduled to continue September 6 and 7 with a number of experts and national pro-life leaders expected to testify, including, tentatively, Operation Rescue's Troy Newman.

Pro-life groups have scheduled a press conference on September 6 at noon.

"The Kansas law banning abortions after 21 weeks is very clear and has been Constitutionally tested. Tiller is violating this law while agencies that are supposed to be enforcing the law are looking the other way. Because women are coming from every state in the U.S. to abort their babies at Tiller's late-term mill in Wichita, this has become a national problem and a disgrace on the State of Kansas," said Newman. "We pray that these hearings will prompt proper enforcement of existing Kansas law and get these illegal abortionists out of business for good."

Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation.  Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America.  Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.