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Federal Court Won't Rehear Wichita Abortion Threat Case

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A federal appeals court will not reconsider its decision that an abortion opponent must stand trial over a letter she sent to a Wichita doctor saying someone might place an explosive under the doctor's car.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a move seeking either a rehearing by the three-judge appeals panel or by the full court.

In July, a panel ruled that the decision about whether anti-abortion activist Angel Dillard's letter constituted a "true threat" should be left to a jury.

The Justice Department sued Dillard in 2011 for sending the letter to Dr. Mila Means, who had been training to offer abortions. At the time, no doctor was performing abortions in Wichita in the wake of Dr. George Tiller's murder in 2010.

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Follow Abigail Wilson on Twitter @AbigailKMUW.

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