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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Ind. Decisions - Editorial on the Planned Parenthood records decision
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an editorial today on the Court of Appeals decision last Friday in the Planned Parenthood of Indiana v. Steve Carter and Allen K. Pope case - ILB entries here, here and here.
Some quotes:
But the fraud investigation was nothing more than a ruse.“We acknowledge the significant public interest in investigating complaints of patient neglect and allegations of child sexual abuse, but granting IMFCU’s (Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit) demand for unlimited access to PPI’s minor patients’ medical records is neither the only, nor the most effective, nor the least intrusive means of serving those interests,” Judge Terry Crone wrote in granting Planned Parenthood’s motion to block the attorney general from receiving the records.
Carter has shown good initiative in investigating securities problems, foundation scandals and voting fraud in Lake County. He put aside partisan politics when he followed through on his pledge to go after violators of an Indiana law prohibiting automated calls when he filed a lawsuit against a company that was making phone calls attacking Democratic congressional candidate Baron Hill. But in this instance, his attempt to gain access to private medical records appears politically motivated and misguided.
The ruling clearly communicates that while the attorney general’s office has an obligation to investigate potential fraud and abuse, trampling on patients’ rights to privacy is not an option. Nor is it an effective investigatory method. There are better ways for the attorney general’s office to investigate child abuse that don’t involve violating patients’ privacy rights or overstepping the attorney general’s authority.
The medical-record seizure appears to be nothing more than a fishing expedition, an effort to review records to find evidence of a crime not otherwise being investigated. Not only does it infringe on Planned Parenthood’s ability to protect its patient rights, it could also damage patient trust and discourage young people from seeking and getting needed medical treatment.
Carter should not waste the public’s tax dollars by appealing this decision to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 26, 2006 08:00 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions