Anti-abortion group says it has patient records

[cynatnite]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An anti-abortion group says it has the patient records of dozens of women and girls who sought treatment at a Kansas City, Kan., abortion clinic last month — a claim the clinic's attorney says is meant to scare off potential patients and would suggest a crime was committed.

Troy Newman, the president of Wichita-based Operation Rescue, said a confidential informant delivered boxes to the group about two weeks ago that contained the records of 86 female patients who sought treatment at Central Family Medicine, a Kansas City, Kan., clinic also known as Aid for Women.

Newman said the records contained patient names, addresses and other identifying details, as well as information about patients' pregnancies. He said he didn't know how the man obtained the records, but he said the man insisted he obtained them legally.

Cheryl Pilate, an attorney for the clinic, said she contacted the FBI after someone broke into a locked Dumpster on clinic property about 10 days ago. She said doubts Operation Rescue's claims because she said there's no way the clinic would have discarded April patient records, and that documents of that nature always get shredded first.

http://news.yahoo.com/anti-abortion-group-says-patient-records-153321470.html;_ylt=A2KLOzEOCKNPfU0Af.PQtDMD

There is no way they got this by any other means but illegally. I have handled patient records and they are not discarded so carelessly. It is a matter of law in how patient records are handled.

[Warpy]

1. Troy Newman needs a visit from men in bad suits with white socks

and a frog march to jail for contempt if he fails to produce what he's got and turn it all over.

[kestrel91316]

2. Clearly a theft of medical records. Heck, I've been shredding all my old

patient records here for over 15 years, for privacy reasons, and my patients are CATS.

[usrname]

3. I wonder how many of the women whose record he has

are right-wing Christians who deny that the abortion they had was the same as the godless heathens who are killing babies.

I'll bet some of the women were there protesting on a Friday and getting an abortion on a Monday.

[Live and Learn]

4. Doesn't matter.

Still wrong.

[JDPriestly]

5. They may have reconstructed shredded documents.

[marmar]

6. F**king psychopaths....

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Same clinic Scott Roeder was caught vandalizing the day before he murdered Dr. Tiller.

If the cops had arrested him, Tiller might still be alive.

[salin]

8. Looks like the war on women, denied to exist from the reactionary right, is growing.

Horrified for the women identified - given how we have seen how reactionary right are so willing to publish name and private information of fellow citizens, (and then go on a 'threat' campaign) - it is going to be very ugly. Certainly laws have been (and probably more will be) broken. Even if the court systems work to adjudicate such acts, it will take a long time. The deep personal damage of any woman who has legally sought an abortion of suddenly very public information about the abortion is likely to be horrific.

This can only end badly.

I weep.

[Ikonoklast]

9. There is no legal way for anyone to obtain medical records who isn't in the chain of custody.

Even if they went dumpster diving for shredded records, they still broke the law.

[rustydog]

10. IF true, this is a huge HIPPA violation