KS Atty Gen Kline - huge abuse of office, privacy of women

FLOUTING PRIVACY.

The news last week that the attorney general of Kansas, Phill Kline, was requesting the private medical records of some 90 women who had late-term abortions in his state was couched in the terms of protecting children from rape. Despite his claim to be fighting "for more open and transparent government," Kline had been conducting this investigation under a cloak provided by a courtroom gag order. As the Times explained earlier this week:

In a shocking abuse of office, the attorney general of Kansas is conducting a stealth campaign to violate the privacy of about 90 women who obtained late-term abortions, offering the flimsy claim that he's looking for evidence of crime.

Protected by a sweeping gag order from a local judge, Attorney General Phill Kline has been demanding the women's records from two clinics that have been unable to even warn clients that their intimate histories are being sought. When the inquiry finally came to light through a court brief, Mr. Kline maintained that he needed all the women's records - including their identities, sexual histories, clinical profiles and birth control methods - to prosecute statutory rape and other suspected sexual crimes.

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http://www.prospect.org/weblog/archives/2005/03/index.html#005641

government. He met secretly with the anti-evolution members of the Kansas BOE (a number of whom had contributed money to his campaign) ... then denied that he'd violated the open meetings act. Two years ago he wanted healthcare providers to report underage sexual activity, but he was overruled by the courts.

This attempt to seize medical records doesn't make sense if the purpose is to uncover underage women who are victims of sex crimes. These 90 women are of varying ages, and healthcare providers are already required to report suspected sex crimes.

In short, he's got something up his sleeve. He's very devious, very rightwing, and very much not to be trusted.

one of our local reporters asked him why he needed the records. The records do not include the names of the males envolved in the cases - only the names of the young women. He also requested full sexual activity records and medical records. So the reporter asked him how the records were going to help if they didn't show the men's names. How was he going to protect the young women from underage sex (statutory rape) using those records. He would have to go to the young women and try to force them to give the names of their sexual partners.

Now wouldn't that be a good idea!

Clinics here already have to follow a lot of regulations when it comes to the handling of underage persons. We don't need more government help. Even some of the gov't agencies say this is a really bad idea. If children think their records will be open they will not go to the clinics. Instead they will try to find their own solutions - like dumping unwanted babies in trash barrels or trying to do their own abortions.

I don't think Kline is going to get very far with this one. Everyone knows he's not trying to help the underage women. He's trying to damage the clinics.

It will hurt the clinics. Frighten women with the fact that their privacy will be violated: their names, sexual history and reason for getting an abortion. Many will be afraid to take the chance of going to the clinics.