Abortion Records Privacy

In an story today on CNN, Kansas AG demands abortion records, the state's Attorney General, Phill Kline, is attempting to obtain complete medical records of 90 patients. Mr. Kline's reason? According to Mr. Kline:

"I have the duty to investigate and prosecute child rape and other crimes in order to protect Kansas children."

All well and good, except in the process he is requesting information on women who have had abortions, legally, and most likely would like for that information to remain private. After all, isn't there something personal about one's medical history that should not be shared without one's consent?

From the article:

The clinics said Kline demanded their complete, unedited medical records for women who sought abortions at least 22 weeks into their pregnancies in 2003, as well as those for girls 15 and younger who sought abortions. Court papers did not identify the clinics.

So, while Mr. Kline may have good intentions, or not, he is attempting to cast a wider net than he should be using to catch his fish. Perhaps, an ulterior motivation may be to catch those abortion providers breaking the law, which, in Kansas it is illegal for doctors to perform abortion after 22 weeks of gestation, unless there is reason to believe the mother's health is at risk. Why else would he include the records of those over age 15 based on SPECIFIC criteria (i.e. "women who sought abortions at least 22 weeks into their pregnancies")

On the surface, this may appear to be a valiant objective, to prosecute those who sexually assault or abuse children. But, it seeems to me at least, this is an after-the-fact event which does not prevent sexual abuse of children. It does not protect children because it only identifies those that have gone to seek abortions AFTER the abuse has occurred.

To truly protect the children, Mr. Kline should invest the time and money to educate families in how to identify the signs of potential sexual abuse so families can proactively seek help when the signs are there. The best way to stop a sexual predator is to have the victims speak-up about the incidents, not wait until one of them seeks an abortion.

Mr. Kline, I for one can clearly see that this is not about protecting Kansas children from sexual abuse, but about pushing the agenda of the pro-life crowd by attempting to catch abortion clinics breaking the law so you can begin to shut them down.

Technorati Tag: Privacy