Facebook post of Minnesota woman's abortion records prompts criminal investigation

[Bayard]

The posting of a Minnesota woman’s abortion records on Facebook without her consent has touched off a criminal investigation by state authorities while revealing the fragility of medical privacy in the social media era.

One of the Facebook posts, which apparently took place last fall, called the woman a “baby killer” and contained her picture. It also included a picture of her sonogram from a Planned Parenthood clinic and an admission form indicating how long the woman had been pregnant and the recommended methods of abortion for her to consider.

A cyber crimes investigator with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) obtained a search warrant last fall and traveled to Facebook’s California headquarters to retrieve data and information for three profile pages on which the abortion records were posted. The search warrant information had been sealed until recently so that the perpetrators weren’t tipped off to the investigation.

One of the Facebook pages, which has nearly 3,000 friends and posts, was “used to harass, oppress, persecute and intimidate” the woman, investigator Joseph Murphy wrote in his search warrant application.

http://www.startribune.com/facebook-post-of-minnesota-woman-s-abortion-records-prompts-criminal-investigation/510432362/

[comradebillyboy]

1. Another win for Facebook.

[MagickMuffin]

2. I hope they catch whoever is responsible and the victim isn't punished

I guess she should consider herself somewhat lucky she isn't living in the south.

[MineralMan]

3. Well, I'd love to know that page's name.

Yes I would.

[gratuitous]

4. Dear Women of Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana

This is what you have to look forward to if the recklessly cruel bills passed by your legislatures and signed into law by your governors withstand constitutional scrutiny. If you support those laws, I strongly urge you to sit yourselves down and very carefully think about your personal medical history, as well as that of your close female friends. Who's eager to have this happen to them? Because this will happen to you, or one of your friends, or a daughter, or a niece, or a sister. I guarantee it.

[TheBlackAdder]

5. Yep, if they are pregnant, a state case worker will either ensure compliance or criminal arrest.

[Duppers]

6. This is outrageous.

It violates all constitutional rights of privacy.