Bush Administration Violates Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 12, 2004

Bush Administration Violates Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

Court Documents Reveal Position That is “Beyond Appalling,” Says NARAL Pro-Choice America Head

WASHINGTON, DC – The Bush Administration has claimed in recent legal proceedings that it does not believe that there is any legal protection for the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship, according to recently released court documents. The claim was revealed in a judge’s decision denying the Justice Department’s demand to subpoena the records of patients who’d received abortion care at a Chicago hospital.
In his ruling on the decision, Charles P. Kocoros, the Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, noted: “The government counters that federal law governs this case and because federal common law does not recognize a physician-patient privilege, the medical records of Dr. Hammond’s patients must be disclosed subject to the subpoena.”

Kate Michelman, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said: “Americans will be shocked to find out that the Bush Administration has taken the position that there is no right to medical privacy. To assert that the government has an unfettered right to root around in our private medical records is beyond appalling."

Ms. Michelman added: “We are going to use every tool at our disposal over the next eight months to make sure the American people know what George Bush and John Ashcroft believe about medical privacy - or according to them, the lack thereof.”



Contact:


David Seldin at (202) 973-3032.