A Supreme Controversy
Privacy issues are tipping the scales of justice as the Supreme Court of Ohio will determine whether private health information can be released in a civil case against Planned Parenthood. The parents of a minor who got an abortion at Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio are seeking the medical records of women who got abortions at the facility over the past 10 years. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the parents believe the facility neglected its obligation to report sexual abuse after their daughter, who was 14 years old at the time, informed the clinic that the father was her 21-year-old soccer coach. The parents also allege that the clinic failed to obtain their consent for the procedure.
While abortion is already a hot button issue, this particular case packs the added wallop of patient privacy. Attorneys are calling to release not only the daughter’s medical records, but also medical details of countless other women. They contend that past patients’ medical records may prove a pattern of failure on the clinic’s part to report cases of statutory rape and other sexual abuse. The article did not state whether these women would be notified about the release.
As my nursing friends would say—Holy HIPAA!
The article indicates that any identifying information would be erased before releasing the records, but controversy is nevertheless brewing. Aside from the expected pro-life/pro-choice throw-down among readers’ comments, one individual raised the point that private medical information is often released for research purposes, as long as patient anonymity is ensured. Releasing information to aid the Planned Parenthood civil suit, the commenter claimed, is no different.
Let’s be honest, though—we’re not dealing with apples and oranges. The reasoning is noble: if the clinic has failed to report abuse, repercussions can be addressed. Yet rifling through 10 years of records, unbeknownst to the patients, still reeks of invasion. And if women catch wind of it, as one justice pointed out, they may avoid the clinic altogether.
So do attorneys have a right to demand the records of Planned Parenthood’s previous clients? Should they be required to obtain consent before releasing information? Or does anonymity reign supreme over the wealth of privacy regulations? I’ll leave it for the justices (and perhaps a few brave readers) to mull over.