Legal Voice is headed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in our ongoing fight to protect the privacy and safety of our clients – a group of health care providers, clinic and hospital staff, researchers, and other people whose work involves fetal tissue.
Last year, we went up against David Daleiden, the man responsible for the 2015 smear campaign against Planned Parenthood. He and Zachary Freeman of the conservative Family Policy Institute of Washington both requested public records from the University of Washington Birth Defects Research Lab. These requests were so broad that releasing the records would have disclosed personal information identifying more than 150 people.
Why was this an issue? All across the country, anti-abortion extremists use records requests to gather and publicize personal information of individuals, putting them at risk of harm or harassment.
So Legal Voice stepped in, and secured an important victory. The trial court recognized the very real threat of violence facing our clients, and ordered their personally identifying information be redacted from the records.
But now, Daleiden and Freeman are appealing the decision that kept our clients’ information out of their hands.
We aren’t backing down. And we aren’t alone! We are thrilled to have an incredible group of allies supporting us in this case. Last week, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Feminist Majority Foundation, National Abortion Federation, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Southern Poverty Law Center, and a group of 40 researchers, specialists, and ethicists all lent their voices and their support by submitting amicus briefs.
Even the State of Washington is supporting our position – and the trial court’s decision – despite our having sued them in trial court to get our first victory in this case!
Be sure to check back for updates as this case progresses. You can invest in our continued efforts to protect abortion care providers and those involved in life-saving research by making a donation here.
More
– Brief of Southern Poverty Law Center and Feminist Majority Foundation
– Brief of Electronic Privacy Information Center
– Brief of Fetal Tissue Researchers, Medical Specialists, Academics, and Medical Legal Ethicists
