Appeals court hears arguments over order that NYC hospital release abortion records

Hearing arguments over whether a New York hospital should be forced to turn over patient abortion records, federal appellate judges Wednesday expressed doubt that the government needs the documents to defend the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Judges on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made no immediate decision, but seemed to dispute the government's contention that it needs the records of two doctors from New York-Presbyterian Hospital to help show the procedure is never necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.

"I just don't understand what the records will prove in this case," said Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan suggested the government had the "resources of America" to find doctors who could testify about abortion procedures, and yet finds it crucial to obtain the two doctors' records. "And on this the fate of the republic hinges?" Kaplan asked.

The dispute over the hospital's records is delaying the conclusion of a trial on the constitutionality of the law, which bars a procedure that involves partially removing a fetus from the womb and puncturing or crushing its skull. The law also is being challenged in federal courts in San Francisco and Lincoln, Neb.

The three-judge panel heard arguments a day after Judge Richard C. Casey presiding at the New York trial found New York-Presbyterian in contempt for refusing to release the records. Casey issued the ruling which the hospital immediately appealed after the 2nd Circuit said it would not have full jurisdiction until he did so.

Casey, who ordered New York-Presbyterian to turn over the records a month ago, said testimony from doctors during the bench trial made the records even more necessary.

"It became increasingly evident as this trial went on that significant concerns that were relevant to this case were in those hospital records," Casey said.

He concluded federal privacy laws would permit disclosure of health information without patient consent as long as information identifying the women who received the abortions is deleted from the files.

In March, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected the government's bid to obtain medical records from Northwestern Memorial Hospital for use in the New York case.

Supporters of the law say it bans a rarely used procedure that is never medically necessary, possibly harmful to women and verges on infanticide. Opponents contend it infringes on a woman's right to choose and endangers almost all second-trimester abortions.