(CNSNews.com) - Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri is facing 107 criminal charges, including 23 felony counts of falsifying medical documents related to late-term abortions. The felony charges will be examined at preliminary hearings set for April 7 and 8 in Johnson County District Court in Olathe, Kan.

The current case stems from 2003, when then-Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline requested a subpoena, which was eventually issued by a judge, for Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Midwestern affiliate to hand over its medical records.

Kline, who is now the district attorney in Johnson County, obtained the records in October 2006 and subsequently filed 107 criminal charges against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in October 2007.

In addition to the felony counts of falsifying documents, there are 26 misdemeanor counts of unlawful failure to maintain records, 29 counts of unlawful failure to determine viability for a late-term abortion and 29 counts of unlawful late-term abortion.

In Kansas, "making a false information" -- the legal phrase for falsifying documents -- is a felony, while a criminal late-term abortion is a misdemeanor.

At the hearings, district court judge Stephen Tatum will determine if probable cause exists for the 23 felony counts, which could pave the way for a jury trial. Misdemeanor charges automatically go to trial, Kline said.

Kline told Cybercast News Service that "delay has been the game" strategy of Planned Parenthood's legal experts.

But now, thanks to legislation sponsored by Kline and passed by Kansas lawmakers in 2005 extending the statutes of limitation on certain crimes, including those covered in this case, the Kansas and Mid-Missouri Planned Parenthood will be in court next month.

Planned Parenthood had claimed that releasing patients' records would violate privacy laws, but Kline said it is medical information - not names - that are vital to the case.

"We use medical records in almost every prosecution, and we've never named names," Kline said, referring to the names of patients being struck from the records before they were delivered to the district attorney's office in October 2007. "You can't prosecute late-term abortions without looking at the reason the doctor says the abortion is necessary."

Questions submitted by Cybercast News Service to Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid Missouri, were not answered by press time.

Kline said successful prosecution of Planned Parenthood in this case could have repercussions across the country.

"Planned Parenthood is required for the receipt of federal funds to comply with state laws," Kline said. "It could jeopardize their federal funding."

Jenn Giroux, executive director of Women Influencing the Nation, a pro-life group in Ohio that has been following the case, told Cybercast News Service that the hearing will also reveal if the rule of law applies in Kansas.

"We're looking for judicial fairness instead of the judicial advocacy we've see on the part of the abortion industry," Giroux said. "We want a fair review of the evidence."

Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the largest provider of abortions in the United States and receives about one-third of its $1 billioin annual budget from federal grants and contracts.

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