Judge who protected abortion clinic entrances dies
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Retired federal Judge Patrick Kelly, whose notable cases included barring abortion protesters from blocking clinic entrances and pushing Playtex to stop selling tampons linked to toxic shock syndrome, has died. He was 78. Kelly died Friday, according to Lakeview Funeral Home. U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown said Kelly had cancer. Kelly's 16-year tenure on the federal bench ended in 1996. He is perhaps most well known for his role during the 1991 "Summer of Mercy" abortion protests in Wichita. Thousands of demonstrators were arrested during the 45-day event, which was organized by the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. The group's founder, Randall Terry, dubbed Kelly a "Nazi judge" when Kelly ordered protesters to stop blocking the entrance of the clinic of Dr. George Tiller, one of the few physicians in the country to perform late-term abortions. Kelly also ordered U.S. marshals to provide security. The Court of Appeals struck down Kelly's ruling on abortion protesters. But Congress affirmed Kelly's intent by passing a law making it a federal crime to block clinic entrances. In 1985, a jury in Wichita ordered Playtex to pay $11.2 million in damages to the widower of a woman who died from toxic shock syndrome. Afterward, Kelly said he would lower part of the payment if the company removed the tampons from the market. Playtex took the tampons off the market, even though Kelly's ruling to
