Women Who Have Undergone Late-Term Abortions Latest Opponents of Kansas AG's Subpoena of Abortion Medical Records, NPR Reports

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 11 Apr 2005 - 8:00 PDT

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NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday profiled several women who have undergone second- or third-trimester abortions in Kansas and are the latest opponents of Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's (R) attempt to access the medical records of women who have had late-term abortions at two state clinics (Allen, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/5). Two family planning clinics late last month 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 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/21). One of the clinics involved in the lawsuit is Wichita-based Women's Health Care, which is one of only three clinics nationwide that performs second- and third-trimester abortions, according to NPR. The NPR segment includes comments from Kline and women who sought late-term abortions in Kansas for reasons such as rape, fetal abnormalities or maternal health ("Morning Edition," NPR, 4/5). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

"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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