Planned Parenthood officials in Missouri say they will not give Attorney General Andrew Bailey the records of its young transgender patients.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri in St. Louis Circuit Court opposing the state鈥檚 motion to obtain medical records from Planned Parenthood鈥檚 transgender patients.
Bailey 鈥渄oubled down asking for private patient records, in violation of HIPAA, even going so far as asking for any documents mentioning social media,鈥� said Margot Riphagen, the organization's vice president of external affairs, during a downtown rally. 鈥淚t's just broad, politically motivated overreach. So we are pushing back against that on behalf of not only our patients, but all Missourians.鈥�
The health care organization鈥檚 filing comes after lawyers from the attorney general鈥檚 office asked St. Louis Circuit Court to amend a previous ruling that barred the office from obtaining some protected health information from Planned Parenthood鈥檚 clinics.
In , Bailey and other lawyers argued judges are allowed to authorize the disclosure of confidential medical records through a court order and implored Stelzer to amend his decision.
Planned Parenthood, in Friday鈥檚 brief, argued that the law allows disclosure of health documents only in limited circumstances and that the court should deny the state鈥檚 request to allow the release of records.
Bailey earlier this year requested information about the care Planned Parenthood gave to transgender minors as part of the state鈥檚 investigation into the Washington University Transgender Center鈥檚 treatment of trans people under 18.
The attorney general launched the investigation into the Washington University Clinic last year after a whistleblower, Jamie Reed, alleged providers were reckless in providing gender-affirming treatments to young patients.
Planned Parenthood sued the attorney general鈥檚 office and noted in its lawsuit that it would not produce the documents, since the organization鈥檚 clinics were not connected to the Washington University clinic.
Stelzer ruled in April that the attorney general was allowed access to some 鈥� but not all 鈥� patient records. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects patients鈥� health information, wrote Stelzer, and thus patients鈥� medical records were off the table.
鈥淭he court agrees the [investigation and state laws] grant the defendant broad investigative powers, but [do] not grant the defendant the authority to access federally protected documents,鈥� Stelzer wrote in the April 11 decision.
鈥淢y team will get to the bottom of how this clandestine network of clinics has subjected children to puberty blockers and irreversible surgery,鈥� Bailey wrote in a statement after the April 11 ruling. 鈥淣o stone will be left unturned in these investigations.鈥�
Petyr Cruikshanks, a trans patient who attended Friday morning鈥檚 rally, said Bailey and other politicians were attacking patient rights to score political clout.
鈥淵ou know, the attorney general doesn't need to know about my ovary issues or my thyroid or my muscular issues,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur medical care shouldn't be political. If our doctors agree that it is something that is needed for our health, we should be able to get it.鈥�
A spokeswoman for Bailey said in all cases regarding transgender patients the office has kept patient information under seal to protect patients' privacy.
鈥淎ttorney General Bailey is committed to getting to the bottom of what happened here while still protecting patient privacy,鈥� she said.
Planned Parenthood officials on Friday said they would continue opposing the attorney general鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淲e are against turning over any patient records,鈥� Riphagen said. 鈥淪o our intent is to continue this fight to make sure that we don't turn over any patient records at all.鈥�
Riphagen said the organization would fight against releasing documents even if the patient records were stripped of personal information.
鈥淭his is a sham investigation,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we know that it is politically motivated.鈥�
