The Religious Consultation
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Associated Press, March 24, 2005 Group Decries
Abortion Records Searches WASHINGTON - Planned Parenthood officials charged Wednesday that efforts by two state attorneys general to seize patient medical records from the organization's clinics are aimed at discouraging women from seeking abortions and other reproductive health care. Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and his Indiana counterpart, Steve Carter, deny that's the case. They say the documents are needed for investigations of child sexual abuse and — in Kansas — possible illegal late-term abortions. Kline is seeking the medical files of about 90 women and girls from two abortion clinics, which are contesting on privacy grounds. Planned Parenthood sued the state of Indiana last week to stop the seizure of medical records there, saying investigators were on a "fishing expedition," possibly to identify the partners of sexually active 12- and 13-year-olds. None of the records requested in Indiana involved abortions. The state actions follow an unsuccessful attempt last year by then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to subpoena abortion records from several Planned Parenthood affiliates as part of the government's defense of a new law barring certain late-term abortions. Karen Pearl, interim president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the efforts to get access to the records an "attack on medical privacy." "Politicians with rigid anti-choice agendas are trying to rip apart the covenant that we have as providers with our patients," she said at a news conference. Kline, attending a seminar in Washington, held his own news conference to rebut the allegations. "Our investigation has been going on for a year and it's been secret until the clinics actually sought to open it up before the Kansas Supreme Court," Kline said. "So it's impossible for me to have the motivation of frightening women when I intended this entire investigation to remain secret." The clinics, which offer services that include pregnancy tests, screening for sexually transmitted diseases and abortions, have asked the Kansas Supreme Court to block subpoenas seeking the records or to restrict their scope. The lawsuit filed in Indianapolis seeks temporary and permanent injunctions barring Carter and his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from searching the private records of clients at 40 Planned Parenthood clinics across the state. Staci Schneider, a spokeswoman for Carter's office in Indianapolis, also rejected the idea of political motivation. "Indiana is investigating a complaint about a failure to report child sexual abuse and we're following our statutory obligations in following through with that investigation," Schneider said. "We respect the privacy rights of all patients whose records are reviewed." ___ On the Net: Planned Parenthood: http://www.plannedparenthood.org Kansas attorney general's office: http://www.ksag.org Indiana attorney general's office: http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/ << Associated Press -- 3/24/05 >>
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