The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. — A judge who once called abortion “the slaughter of the innocents” was picked Friday to handle a criminal case against one of the nation’s highest-profile abortion providers.

Sedgwick County District Judge Anthony Powell previously served in the Kansas House and was among the Legislature’s most vocal abortion opponents. He voted for — and, some say, helped write — a 1998 law restricting late-term abortions. Shortly after its enactment, he accused Dr. George Tiller of breaking it.

Tiller was charged with 19 misdemeanors in June. Attorney General Paul Morrison alleges the doctor failed to get a second opinion on some late-term abortions from an independent physician, which the late-term law requires. Tiller maintains his innocence, and his attorneys are challenging the law.

Powell had an hourlong hearing Friday on the law’s constitutionality but doesn’t plan to rule until at least next month. If Powell upholds the statute, Morrison’s office can move toward a trial. If Powell strikes it down, a trial will be delayed until appeals of such a ruling are resolved.

The case was assigned to Powell by Judge Gregory Waller, the county’s chief criminal judge. Waller said he didn’t know about Powell’s past legislative activities and picked him because he was “the most available” for a hearing.

Tiller is among a few U.S. doctors performing late-term abortions, and national groups are watching his case. The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue has questioned whether Waller and another judge previously involved in Tiller’s case could be impartial because they received contributions in past campaigns from attorneys linked to Tiller.

Also, abortion opponents don’t trust Morrison because he is an abortion rights Democrat. They contend he’s focusing on potential technical violations of the law, rather than more serious problems. They’re hoping to force the county to convene a grand jury for a fresh investigation.

“It’s about time things start leaning toward the side of life,” said Troy Newman, Operation Rescue’s president.

Powell wouldn’t comment about the case after the hearing. But before the hearing began, from the bench, he mentioned his past as a legislator.

He noted that he’d served with legislators who signed “friend of the court” arguments submitted in the case. He said two of them may have contributed to his first campaign for judge in 2002, though campaign finance records later showed they didn’t.

He said his judgment wouldn’t be affected. He then asked the state’s and Tiller’s attorneys whether they objected to him presiding in Tiller’s case.

Lee Thompson, an attorney representing the doctor, replied: “We trust the court’s judgment in that regard.”

After the hearing, Tiller’s attorneys declined to comment about Powell’s assignment.

Peter Brownlie, chief executive for a Planned Parenthood chapter that operates an Overland Park abortion clinic, said most people expect judges to be impartial and, “Somebody who was a sponsor or major backer of a law being challenged shouldn’t be hearing the challenge.”