Right-to-life groups say a victory by the radically pro-abortion Barack Obama will mark a dark day in the nation's history.

And while the focus of the pro-life community is on the match-up between Obama and John McCain, a slice of its attention also is being directed toward what normally would be an obscure race for the position of Wichita District Attorney.

In that campaign, incumbent Nola Foulston is opposed by Republican candidate Mark Schoenhofer.

Pro-life activists believe Foulston has used her office to protect a notorious late-term abortionist, Dr. George Tiller, and they're holding out hope that the challenger can mount an upset.

Jennifer Giroux, executive director of the Ohio-based Women Influencing the Nation, told Kansas Liberty she believed pro-abortion advocates are also keenly interested in the Foulston-Schoenhofer campaign.

"Dr. Tiller is a national hero to the pro-abortion movement," Giroux said. "He's the be all and end all of their movement and he personifies their vision – abortion on demand up 'til the last month."

Cheryl Sullenger, an official with the Wichita-based Operation Rescue, agrees the pro-life community is keenly interested in Foulston's fate.

"We get emails every day from all over the place about this campaign," Sullenger told Kansas Liberty.

Sullenger added that the people of Wichita, where she lives, have been poorly served by the local media, which has repeated allegations about Schoenhofer that Sullenger and Schoenhofer insist aren't true.

She said she became so discouraged with what she saw as the media's bias toward Foulston that she established a website http://k-tip.org/foulston.htm to provide details about Foulston's handling of allegations related to Dr. Tiller.

She alleges on the website that Foulston discouraged two citizen-called grand juries from returning indictments against Tiller, and that she arbitrarily dismissed 30 criminal counts filed against Tiller by then Attorney General Phill Kline.

His successor, Paul Morrison, who resigned from the office after details of an affair with a fellow employee became public, filed 19 misdemeanor charges against Tiller that are still pending. Those charges are not being handled by the District Attorney's office.

Sullenger said Foulston has benefited from contributions provided by a political action committee founded by Tiller, which is mailing campaign fliers on Foulston's behalf to Wichita residents. The Kansas Meadowlark has also reported that Tiller's attorney's are among Foulston's donors:

"George Tiller's attorney's law firm, Monnat & Spurrier, gave Foulston $500. Tiller's attorney and wife, Dan and Grace Wu Monnat, gave Foulston $500...Stanley and Linda Spurrier also gave Foulston $500," wrote Earl Glynn, Meadowlark editor.

According to Glynn, Foulston has spent $30,000 more than her opponent - an unusually large sum for a district attorney's race.

"She's needs Tiller and Tiller needs her," Sullenger said.

Giroux said to pro-life sympathizers across America, the Wichita race is probably second in importance only to the Presidential campaign.

"There could be two or three Supreme Court positions open up in the next four years, and the thought that Obama might make those nominations sickens me as a nurse and a mother," Giroux said.

She said she's been promoting at McCain rallies in Ohio a campaign to educate America on the type of appointments Obama might attempt as President.

The website http://www.justonejudge.com/ also asks interested citizens to sign a petition indicating they support a candidate who will nominate pro-life jurists to the Supreme Court. She said more than one million Ohio residents had signed to date.

Neither the Schoenhofer nor the Foulston campaigns returned calls soliciting comments for this article.

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