Orders from the Department of Justice to hand over medical records of women who had partial-birth abortions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital could leave the hospital in a legal battle at the national level.
The Justice Department subpoenaed records from many hospitals to build their claim that the late-term procedure, banned in the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, is never medically necessary. Some medical professionals say the procedure is often needed to guard the patient’s health.
A recent ruling threw out the department’s request at Northwestern Memorial, but the hospital may face further legal confrontations if the Justice Department decides to appeal the ruling, according to a Thursday article in the New York Times.
In a Feb. 5 decision, U.S. Chief District Judge Charles P. Kocoras of Illinois’ northern district ruled in favor of Northwestern Memorial that physician-patient privilege laws prohibit the government from obtaining the records.
The government subpoenaed Northwestern Memorial for the records in mid-December.
Northwestern Memorial is a separate corporation from the university, but students, physicians and faculty from NU’s Feinberg School of Medicine work at the teaching hospital.
Victor Rosenblum, an NU law professor who argued in a 1980 case regarding federal funding for abortion, said the decision shows the Justice Department needs to prove more convincingly why access to the records is necessary to its case.
“They took a gamble in trying to subpoena the data,” he said. “I think the hospitals have a legitimate claim that they cannot turn these data over in the absence of a compelling circumstance.”
He said he was not aware of any factors compelling enough to override the right to privacy in this case.
The subpoena is part of a case which began in November, when seven physicians, including an attending physician at Northwestern, commenced a civil action with the National Abortion Federation against U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in the Southern District of New York.
Along with the doctors, the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and several other organizations are involved in litigation against the act.
NU obstetrics and gynecology professor Cassing Hammond, a physician at Northwestern who performed abortions now banned under the act, received the initial subpoena, according to the Kocoras decision, which also says Hammond has privileges to practice at Northwestern Memorial but is not employed by the university.
Northwestern argued that medical records were privileged under federal law, and that producing the records would “impose an undue burden on Northwestern and its patients.”
Neither Hammond nor Northwestern Memorial representatives could be reached for comment.
Anti-abortion and abortion rights groups on campus said they have not planned anything in response to the recent news. But the Justice Department’s actions are significant to some.
“It’s horrifying for the federal government to ask for anyone’s medical records about anything,” said Vickie Cook, director of EmPower, a feminist organization made up of sorority members.
Cook, a Weinberg senior, said the group plans to discuss the issue at its Wednesday meeting and might begin a letter-writing campaign.
Justin Tackett, a Weinberg freshman and member for NU Students for Life, said the ambiguity of some abortion laws can create confusion.
“I think it’s important to respect any citizen’s privacy,” he said. “At the same time, because it’s a law that some of these partial-birth abortions are not being used in the right cases, the government has to find that out somehow.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
