Kansas Attorney General Violates Patients' Privacy

NARAL Pro-Choice America: Kansas Attorney General Violates Patients' Privacy; Demand for Patients' Sexual History, Birth Control Usage Part of Pattern of Intrusion Into Personal Records

2/24/2005 4:41:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Ted Miller of NARAL Pro-Choice America, 202-973-3032

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the nation's leading advocate for personal privacy and a woman's right to choose, called the Kansas attorney general's subpoenas of patients' names, medical history, details of their sex life, birth control practices and psychological profiles an outrageous and flagrant violation of medical privacy. Keenan said Attorney General Phill Kline's actions are the latest example of anti-choice politicians' campaign to invade individuals' privacy and insert government into our most private, personal business.

"These wildly intrusive subpoenas are just one more example of how out of control anti-choice politicians have become under President Bush's leadership. Add this witch hunt to the litany of recent outrages like pharmacists who are refusing to fill birth control prescriptions and legislation forcing women to report miscarriages to the police. Americans will and should be appalled at the notion of a state official issuing a mass subpoena for the most private personal information there is," Keenan said.

Kline's actions are reminiscent of former Attorney General John Ashcroft's tactics. In defending the Federal Abortion Ban, Ashcroft demanded that medical professionals provide the records of thousands of women who had received abortion care. The subpoenas targeted patients in California, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania who were not even parties to the lawsuit challenging the abortion ban. The attorneys representing Attorney General Ashcroft justified these actions by arguing that "individuals no longer possess a reasonable expectation their histories will remain completely confidential."

Keenan said Kline's actions underscored the need to protect personal privacy and should spur Congress to pass the Patients' Privacy Protection Act, which amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to explicitly protect private medical information from disclosure in federal court.

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