A federal judge
in Kansas ruled Tuesday that a state law requiring health
care providers to report signs of abuse to government
officials does not cover reporting any sexual activity
by teenagers to authorities, The New York Times
reports. Kansas law states that any sexual
activity--including oral sex, intercourse, and even
"lewd touching"--is illegal for
anyone under age 16. State attorney general Phill
Kline in 2003 issued an opinion saying that under the abuse
law health officials were obliged to report to law
enforcement officials to law enforcement officials any
cases of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, or
requests for contraception by state residents under age 16.
Doctors, nurses, therapists, and sex educators banded
together with the Centers for Reproductive Rights to
file a class-action lawsuit against Kline, saying his
requirement would prevent young people from seeking
medical care.
Judge J. Thomas
Marten ruled that Kline's directive improperly
equated consensual sexual activity with abuse, which
is what the law was designed to protect against. The
judge also chastised Kline, saying his opinion was
"contrary to a plain reading" of the law. "The
opinion wrongly redefines the common understanding of
both state agencies and mandatory reporters by
denoting all sexual activity to be 'inherently injurious,'
" the judge wrote, reports the Times. "The
attorney general's overexpansive interpretation of the
reporting statute not only fails to serve the public
interest, it actually serves to undermine it."
Simon Heller, an
attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told
the Times that Marten's decision
reinforces the constitutional rights of adolescents to have
private and confidential conversations with their
health care providers. (The Advocate)