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Gathering Place
Barry Raff |
Judge’s ruling a victory
for doctor-patient privacyOn March 5 the Federal District Court in San Francisco ruled that the Department of Justice does not have the right to obtain the private, confidential medical records of women across the country who have had abortions. The decision affirms women's right to privacy against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's attempts to obtain the confidential medical records in his defense of the so-called "partial birth" abortion ban that President Bush signed into law in November.
Planned Parenthood, along with three other litigants, filed suit against the abortion ban immediately after it was enacted. In an invasion of medical privacy, Ashcroft demanded access to the medical records of more than 900 women who had abortions at six Planned Parenthood affiliates.
This administration consistently has tried to interfere in the exercise of women's reproductive rights. The Department of Justice's attempt to gain access to medical records shows the predictable result of allowing government interference in private medical decisions. First it's our medical records; what will be the next government encroachment on other freedoms we hold dear?
Planned Parenthood has been caring for women and protecting their health, privacy and rights for nearly 90 years, and we're not about to stop now. Planned Parenthood of Hawaii and the other 122 affiliates nationwide serve real people with real needs who are motivated not by political agendas, but by the human reality of daily life.
A woman who makes the perfectly legal and moral decision to have an abortion does not expect her medical records to be opened to others. Earlier this year, Ashcroft's Department of Justice made the chilling assertion that individuals no longer have a reasonable expectation of medical privacy. This Federal District Court ruling from Judge Phyllis Hamilton rejects this sentiment, and with her decision we all won a victory because medical privacy affects every one of us. The sacred trust of the doctor-patient relationship should not be breached!
This administration has shown its contempt for personal freedoms, and we must remain vigilant. Here at Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, we will continue to fight for reproductive freedom and to provide the women and men of Hawaii with the full range of reproductive health care they want and need. Freedom is on our side, and freedom must and will prevail.
Barry Raff is chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, a nonprofit organization providing reproductive health care and advocacy in Hawaii since 1966.