Kansas Assistant Attorney General Camille Nohe -- who helped write Attorney General Phill Kline's (R) legal opinion requiring health care workers and counseling professionals to report sexual activity among minors ages 16 and younger -- on Tuesday said that the opinion has been misunderstood, the Wichita Eagle reports (Sylvester, Wichita Eagle, 2/1). Kline's opinion, which was issued in June 2003, is based on a 1982 state law that makes sexual intercourse with a girl under age 16 illegal, even if it is consensual sex with another teenager. Kline's ruling contradicted that of former Attorney General Bob Stephan (R), who said that although doctors are required to report suspected abuse of a minor, pregnancy does not necessarily constitute an injury. Kline's opinion also conflicted with how the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts has interpreted the state abuse-reporting law in licensing and regulating medical personnel. Under Kline's opinion, physicians who fail to comply could face misdemeanor charges carrying up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000. Physicians also could face disciplinary action from the Board of Healing Arts. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a suit against Kline's opinion on behalf of medical and counseling professionals in the state, saying that the requirement could prevent some girls from seeking medical attention. In July 2004, U.S. District Judge Thomas Marten issued a temporary injunction barring enforcement of Kline's legal opinion until there could be full arguments in the lawsuit. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Friday voted 2-1 to lift a court order that barred enforcement of the opinion. Marten on Monday heard first-day arguments and testimony in the case, which is not a jury trial (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/31).

Confusion
During the trial on Tuesday, Marten expressed confusion about the opinion, saying he was told that the opinion "extended beyond sexual intercourse." However, Nohe said the opinion "just talks about sexual intercourse" among girls under 16, adding, "I keep hearing 'all sexual activity,' and I don't know where that's started" (Wichita Eagle, 2/1). After questioning from Marten, Nohe added that the opinion includes oral and anal sex, but the intent of the opinion was the reporting of "higher criminal offenses," adding that "[o]ther activities, such as fondling of breasts, kissing and nuzzling, should be allowed the clinical judgment" of the person reporting the activity.

Testimony
Sandra Hazlett, director of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services' Child and Family Services on Tuesday testified that the department does not qualify consensual sexual activity among minors as abuse and does not follow up after such reports, according to the AP/Kansas City Star. She added that the additional workload of mandatory reporting and investigation of consensual sexual activity among minors would be a hardship on the agency, adding, "It's a question of the capacity to handle those reports and still do timely interventions with families where abuse had occurred." Vicki Epp -- a social worker with United Methodist Youthville, which is contracted by the state to provide foster care -- also testified on Tuesday and said that, under Kline's opinion, she understood that she could lose her license to practice social work or face criminal prosecution if she did not report a minor's sexual activity. She also said that she would be bound ethically to tell minors that any mention of sexual activity would be reported to the state. She added that this would make them less likely to confide in her and might hinder their overall care (Hegeman, AP/Kansas City Star, 1/31). Nancy Kellogg, who helped write the clinical guidelines for physicians on suspected sexual abuse, on Wednesday testified that doctors and law enforcement do not play the same role in investigating sexual abuse, the Wichita Eagle reports. "The teen or the child understands what doctors do -- they are there to take care of their health needs, their bodies," Kellogg, who works at the Alamo Children's Advocacy Center in San Antonio, said, adding, "With law enforcement the teens may feel threatened: at best they're confused, at worst they are afraid of them" (Sylvester, Wichita Eagle, 2/1). Kline is expected to testify on Friday (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/31).

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