Kansas Gov., Democratic Lawmakers Criticize State AG's Investigation Involving Medical Records of Women Who Had Abortions

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 02 Mar 2005 - 23:00 PDT


Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) and 14 female Democratic state representatives on Friday criticized state Attorney General Phill Kline (R) for his attempts to access the medical records of women and girls who have had late-term abortions, the... Arizona Republic reports (Arizona Republic, 2/26). Two Kansas medical clinics last week filed a brief with the state Supreme Court requesting that the court block Kline's investigation involving the medical records of about 90 women who sought late-term abortions at the clinics in 2003. According to the brief, Kline last year issued a subpoena ordering the release of complete, unedited medical records -- including each patient's name, medical history, birth control practices, psychological profile and sexual history -- for all women and girls who sought abortions at or after 22 weeks gestation. The brief claims that Kline subpoenaed the records to search for evidence of crimes, including possible violations of laws limiting late-term abortions and requiring mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse. In a news conference on Thursday, Kline said that he needed access to the records to be able to do his job. Kline is expected to file a response brief by March 14 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/25). In news conferences, Sebelius and the lawmakers called Kline's investigation an "invasion of privacy," according to the Republic. "I find the potential to reveal very personal health histories of women and girls extremely troubling," Sebelius said (Arizona Republic, 2/26).

Los Angeles Times Examines Kansas Abortion Debate
The Los Angeles Times on Saturday examined how Kline's investigation has sparked a debate over abortion and privacy rights. Kline's "aggressive action" has drawn praise from antiabortion advocates, but abortion providers and patients say the idea of an official "second-guess[ing]" physicians' evaluations "terrifies them," according to the Times (Huffstutter/Simon, Los Angeles Times, 2/26). The complete article is available online.

Kansas City Star Examines Case's National Attention
The Kansas City Star on Saturday examined the national attention garnered by Kline's investigation (Klepper/Bauer, Kansas City Star, 2/26). The complete article is available online.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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