Northwestern escapes DOJ subpoena (Ashcroft partial birth abortion recs)

[RamboLiberal]

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=11447

A move by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to subpoena the medical records of 40 patients who received so-called partial-birth abortions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago was halted—at least temporarily—when a Chicago federal judge quashed the information request.

The ruling is the first in a series of subpoenas by the U.S. Justice Department seeking the medical records of patients from seven physicians and at least five hospitals, Crain's sister publication Modern Healthcare has learned. Besides Northwestern, Mr. Ashcroft is seeking patient records from University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in Ann Arbor; Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp.; Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital both of which are part of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System; and an unidentified San Francisco-area hospital.

In a 16-page decision, U.S. Chief District Judge Charles Kocoras denied the government’s request to obtain patient medical records from Northwestern, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and Illinois’ medical privacy law.
Northwestern received the subpoena in December, a month after obstetrician/gynecologist Cassing Hammond, a member of Northwestern’s staff and medical school faculty, was served with subpoenas seeking his patient records. Hammond is one of seven doctors and three groups who has challenged the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the National Abortion Federation; Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, which are all filing challenges to the law. A hearing for all of the challenges has been scheduled for March 29 in U.S. District Court in New York.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Ashcroft needs to GO!

Unfuckingbelieveable!

[ewagner]

2. This needs a lot more press

than its getting.

Nobody is safe from this guy!

[lebkuchen]

3. Fascism anyone?

5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

http://secularhumanism.org/library/fi/britt_23_2.htm

[PragMantisT]

4. Huh?

But prosecutors can't get the medical records of an admitted junkie.

[Mushroom]

5. whoa

What are the odds the government would've leaked the identities of the 40 patients to the media.

[salin]

6. Ah the chief extreme Talibornagain strikes again!

Proving that all of the heightened domestic home security alerts are a sham - just look at all of the resources the DOJ is expending on litigating the Culture Wars (this story, the Des Moines grand jury hearings on civil protestors that will disclose information as to the intent of the hearings... and how many others.)

[Sparky McGruff]

7. The Bush admin loves blind retribution

If you disagree with them, they respond with blind retribution. Joseph Wilson writes a critical article in the NY Times -- they commit the treasonous act of outing his wife as an undercover agent. Blind rage.

This doctor has the audacity to question the legality of one of the laws they rammed through congress-- and they want to pry through the records of his patients? If his patients had complaints, surely they would have filed them with the appropriate authorities. But, harassing his patients (and opening up their most private medical records to the courts) is another case of blind rage. Who cares if you harm dozens of innocent bystanders if they can smear the doctor's name and damage his career by dragging him through the legal mud. The Bush MO is clear: Strike back. It doesn't matter who you hit, but hit hard.