Kline's critics have argued that the Republican incumbent's strong opposition to abortion is driving a fishing expedition or a witch-hunt that threatens the patients' privacy. Democratic challenger Paul Morrison, the Johnson County district attorney and an abortion rights supporter, says Kline is endangering patients' privacy and promises to drop the battle for the records if elected.

…"Kline is, of course, trying to justify the medical records search," said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist. "He's obviously hoping that a number of voters will see that the catching-criminals aspect is worth going into medical records."