Ohio Supreme Court Hears Case On Release Of Abortion Records From Cincinnati Planned Parenthood Clinic

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 10 Oct 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a lawsuit seeking the release of ten years of medical records from a Planned Parenthood clinic where a teen had an abortion in 2004 the AP/Google.com reports. The suit has been filed by the parents of the 14 year old girl, who allegedly obtained an abortion without parental consent after being impregnated by a 21 year old. Court records indicate that the girl had given the cell phone number of the 21 year old as her parental contact and that the clinic staff thought they had reached the father when they called inquiring about parental consent. At the time, the state's parental consent law -- which requires an unmarried minor to obtain the consent of at least one parent before undergoing an abortion -- "had not been completely settled by the courts," AP/Google.com reports.

Lawyers for the girl's parents are arguing that the records from the Cincinnati clinic operated by Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region are necessary to prove that the clinic had a pattern of violating Ohio's parental consent law and failed to report suspected abuse or inform the girl of risks or alternatives to abortion. An appeals court last year ruled that records on other patients were not necessary for the family's lawsuit.

In Tuesday's hearing, Charles Miller, an attorney for the parents, said they are requesting three facts about other minors treated at the clinic: the girls' ages, whether any had a sexually transmitted infection and whether they entered the clinic pregnant. He added that about 200 cases a year would be involved.

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer questioned how the three details requested from the records would further the family's case. Justice Paul Pfeifer wondered what value the information would have since the records do not include the ages of the men involved, noting that Ohio law does not require a girl or her parents to provide the identity of the father to clinic employees. Brian Hurley, also an attorney for the family, said abortion clinics should be expected to ask underage girls to identify the father, adding that by failing to do so, they are evading a responsibility to identify potential statutory rape.

PPSOR attorney Daniel Buckley said that the clinic is legally obligated to protect the privacy of its clients' records and that the family is seeking unprecedented access to medical records of third parties that will be of little use in the case. Buckley said the family already has access to all the information it needs to argue its case on behalf of the girl, including her own medical records, as well as statements from a nurse, physicians and social worker. Buckley added that PPSOR denies underreporting or ignoring cases of abuse.

According to AP/Google.com, the family is backed by abortion-rights opponents, including former National Right to Life Committee President Jack Willke, Citizens for Community Values and some Republicans members of Ohio's congressional delegation. The American Medical Association and a dozen associations representing violence victims, obstetricians, gynecologists, pediatricians, psychologists and other medical professionals are opposing the release of the records.

The court did not indicate when it would rule (Carr Smyth, AP/Google.com, 10/7).

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