The anti-abortion movement has been making use of official state power (through Republican Attorneys General who use their police powers) to coerce Planned Parenthood clinics into the mass disclosure of medical records.

Each time, the REAL motivation of the officials is to scare people into not going to Planned Parenthood, under fear that the State might just get access to their medical records.

Just like pharmacists around the nation are starting to impose their religion by refusing to dispense certain drugs, Anti-abortion elected officials around the nation are starting to conduct mass investigations into medical records at Planned Parenthood clinics.

It’s all about imposing religious beliefs on others, when the law is not on your side.

I think it was Kansas in 2005 where the anti-abortion Attorney General is also invading medical privacy in a breathtakingly Big Brother manner, all to chill abortion rights by scaring people into thinking that the State will be seeing their medical records.

Now it’s Indiana’s turn.

It’s like the anti-abortion movement has attended a seminar, and learned new techniques, and now the participants in the seminar have spread out throughout America and are trying out the new techniques.

The cover story used by the anti-abortion Republican officials is to investigate to see if Planned Parenthood is properly reporting child abuse. This cover story is propaganda. That’s not the real reason why Planned Parenthood is being targeted. But anyone who calls it propaganda can be accused of trying to protect abusers, and so it’s a brilliant ploy.

But the exact same logic could apply to justify the mass investigation of the medical records of ANY doctor’s office or hospital or clinic.

In fact, I would expect that the medical records of Counselors and Psychiatrists would be a much more fertile source of information about abuse. That’s because the counselors spend so much time interviewiing people and writing very detailed notes about interpersonal histories.

So I ask: Why don’t the Republican Attorneys General swoop down on the offices of psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists, and look at all the medical records for underage patients? You and I both know the answer to that question.

Nurses and doctors at Planned Parenthood clinics are legally and ethically required to report child abuse, just as other practitioners are in other kinds of clinics.

Why “investigate” whether Planned Parenthood’s nurses and doctors are performing their duties, rather than investigate the non-abortion clinics and hospitals?

That’s because these investigations are not about discovering evidence of abuse. They are about scaring women into not going to get abortions.

Is it too strong to say that this is an instance of “Dishonesty in the service of God”?

How much dishonesty will God allow in His name? Where does the dishonesty stop? Is almost ANY form of dishonesty justifiable in God’s service? What are the rules and limits on the use of dishonesty in the service of God?

Indiana Planned Parenthood Must Allow State to Access Medical Records of Patients Under Age 14 Seen at Clinics

Indiana Planned Parenthood Must Allow State to Access Medical Records of Patients Under Age 14 Seen at Clinics

03 Jun 2005

Marion County, Ind, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Johnson on Monday denied a request by… Planned Parenthood of Indiana to prevent Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter (R) from accessing the confidential medical records of low-income patients under age 14 who sought reproductive health services at state family planning clinics, the Indianapolis Star reports (Walton, Indianapolis Star, 6/1).

. . .

Carter has said he is using MFCU to subpoena the records to investigate whether family planning clinics are properly reporting cases of rape and molestation for children under age 14, adding that his office is obligated under federal and state laws to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect by any medical clinics that receive Medicaid reimbursement from the state.