Did you know that medical records are made of flesh and blood, including a recently stopped heart?

I didn't—not until I read a quote from a Planned Parenthood attorney in today's Oakland Tribune.

The story is about a statutory-rape case that came to light when a 13-year-old San Mateo County girl tested positive for chlamydia at a local clinic. The clinic did the right thing by reporting it to the county sheriff's department, and the girl admitted to the authorities that she'd had sex with a stranger.

When the sheriff's investigators then learned that the girl had an abortion scheduled, they took the rare step of using a search warrant to seize the fetus, so they could use DNA testing to verify the identity of the father—who is believed to be an adult.

Although the abortion was not done at a Planned Parenthood clinic, Margaret Sanger's organization has to have its say in this, as it does any time the government attempts to assert authority when an abortion clinic is tangled in a case of statutory rape. (As has been noted here before, the organization's own writings deny that statutory rape deserves to be called a crime.) After the the head of the county's sexual-assault unit explained the reason for the warrant—to insure that the clinic would "release the remains" (which is the proper way to describe an aborted child)—Planned Parenthood attorney Beth Parker counters that there should be no reason why authorities would have problems with a clinic:

"It makes no sense," Parker said. "If a clinic gets consent from the patient, they'd release the records."

Parker says these types of cases seem to becoming more prevalent. Most involved a patient who objects or didn't even know police had taken the fetus, which Parker contends is part of the woman's medical records.

I read your posting in the Dawn Patrol regarding Planned Parenthood's attempt at using HIPAA (federal medical-information privacy law) to obstruct an investigation of the statutory rape of a 13-year-old child. The headline should read "The Old Dog Can't Learn A New Trick." Planned Parenthood has used HIPAA regulations to oppose legal challenges to partial-birth abortion. The thing that Planned Parenthood just does not get is the law does not require a consent for children.

Limits on uses and disclosures:

"Covered entities" that hold PHI (Personal Health Information) may use it without an individual's consent for the purposes of providing treatment to the individual, for payment activities such as claims adjudication and premium setting, and for operating their businesses. They are also permitted to use and disclose PHI as required or permitted by other laws, e.g., laws related to reporting of child or elder abuse, public health oversight and national security investigations.