At Least 91 People Reported Dead After Monstrous Oklahoma Tornado…120+ Injured…Many Children Among Dead…Some Children Drowned…Heartbreaking Pictures…Reporter Struggles to Share Terrible News…

Watch Live: Continuing Coverage of Oklahoma Tornado Aftermath

Faith

Pro-Life Group’s Efforts to Stop Late-Term Abortions Raise Privacy Concerns Among Critics

Feb. 7, 2013 6:50am

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (TheBlaze/AP) — It’s a debate over privacy — and a contentious one at that. A woman from New York came to New Mexico to terminate her pregnancy at one of the nation’s four late-term abortion clinics after she found out the fetus she had been carrying for more than eight months had severe brain abnormalities. There were complications during the abortion and the 26-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital with a ruptured uterus.

Nearly two years later, the intimate details of her medical treatment, her mental state, her religion and family status have become public as part of a state medical board probe that was initiated not by the patient, but by anti-abortion activists with Operation Rescue who aggressively monitor and file complaints based on 911 calls made from abortion clinics.

On Thursday, the New Mexico Medical Board is expected to decide whether to revoke the license of or otherwise discipline Dr. Shelley Sella, a former colleague of slain Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller and one of the few doctors in the country who still openly performs third-term abortions. It’s a case that highlights Operation Rescue’s aggressive attempts to halt abortions and raises questions about whether the tactics are an invasion of privacy when patient records become public.

The case also highlights the sensitivity surrounding late-term abortions, which several states have made illegal in recent years. Supporters of abortion rights say the procedures are rare and used only in cases where the health of the mother or child is in danger. Abortion opponents say they are a danger to mothers and painful for the unborn baby. The procedure involves injecting the fetus with a drug to stop its heartbeat and administering drugs over the next three to four days to prepare the cervix and induce labor.

Are Pro Life Groups Going too Far in Sacrificing Patient Privacy to Fight Late Term Abortion?

This still image taken from the documentary, “After Tiller,” shows Dr. Shelley Sella. On Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, the New Mexico medical board is expected to make a decision on whether to take action against Sella, who performed a late-term abortion. Sella is a former colleague of slain Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller and one of the few doctors in the country who still openly performs third-term abortions. (AP Photo/Sundance Institute)

Sella gave the woman drugs commonly used in late-term abortions, drugs that, according to transcripts in the case, are known to potentially cause contractions strong enough to cause uterine ruptures in women who previously have delivered a baby through cesarean section, as this woman had.

Records show the patient, who returned to New York three days after the rupture was repaired and was not involved in the complaint or hearing, was warned of the risks. But board prosecutor Daniel Rubin argued that proper standards of care were not followed. At issue is whether abortions providers should be held to the same standards of care that apply to live births, such as whether such a risky procedure so late in a pregnancy should have been done in a hospital rather than a clinic.

Anti-abortion activists are aggressively seeking that determination.

Operation Rescue’s Cheryl Sullenger, who filed the complaint against Sella, says winning such a determination “will dramatically impact the ability of these abortionists to do these dangerous procedures on women.”

But Vicki Saporta, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, downplayed the potential outcome of the case, saying it was part of the group’s ongoing campaign against abortion doctors.

“This is a medical board,” she said. “This is certainly not a standards-setting body for the rest of the United States. So while Operation Rescue would love for their complaints to have national scope, they really don’t, and they haven’t had much success in having medical boards agree with their complaints.”

Another question focuses on patient privacy. The name of the woman who had the abortion has not been released, but full transcripts of three days of hearings into the details of her case have been made public.

Marc Rotenberg, president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, said the case “underscores the sensitivity of medical records and the need to keep them private.”

He pointed to a 2004 decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that blocked an attempt by the Department of Justice under Attorney General John Ashcroft to get redacted abortion records from a Chicago hospital for a trial on the constitutionality of late-term abortions. The opinion said that opening even redacted medical records was a violation of privacy and that the details could lead to a patient being identified and harassed.

Are Pro Life Groups Going too Far in Sacrificing Patient Privacy to Fight Late Term Abortion?

Anti-abortion protesters attend the March for Life on January 25, 2013 in Washington, DC. The pro-life gathering is held each year around the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Credit: Getty Images

Lynn Hart, executive director of the New Mexico Medical Board, said the panel has authority to open an investigation into any medical case in the state, regardless of who files the complaint. She said it has the subpoena authority to obtain patient records with or without a patient’s consent, and it is also exempt from federal medical privacy laws.

Attorneys for Sella successfully argued to close the hearing to media and the public, but the transcripts were made public in advance of the board vote on whether to discipline Sella.

Sullenger, who lives in Wichita, Kan., says the group currently has some 100 complaints pending with medical boards around the country based on information it gets from things like 911 calls for ambulance runs to abortion clinics. Although there are only four clinics in the country that do late-term abortions, according the transcripts presented in the New Mexico case, she said that their efforts are focused on all abortion clinics, not just those like Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque that do the procedures on women in their final trimester.

It’s a tactic the group has employed for years with varying results. In 2005, for instance, a Kansas judge dismissed a public records lawsuit from Sullenger after she was denied copies of 911 calls involving Tiller’s clinic. But the group was successful, through similar complaints, in winning the revocation of the medical license of Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, who provided second opinions for Tiller. And Operation Rescue believes it would have ultimately won the revocation of Tiller’s Kansas license if he had not been murdered. Sella’s license in Kansas was cancelled at her request after she moved to New Mexico.

Are Pro Life Groups Going too Far in Sacrificing Patient Privacy to Fight Late Term Abortion?

Photo Credit: AP 

Privacy of patients was long an issue surrounding Tiller’s Kansas clinic. Operation Rescue used to post pictures of pregnant women, with their faces blurred, going into Tiller’s clinic. And a former state attorney general who tried to prosecute Tiller fought to get redacted medical records of Tiller’s clinic’s patients, then crosschecked information about their hometowns and dates of procedures with records from the hotel where many of Tiller’s patients stayed to learn their identities.

Sullenger said her group had no contact with the patient in the Albuquerque case, and has no interest in revealing patients’ identities.

“We are actually about protecting them,” she said. “We believe that if these abortionists did not employ these dangerous practices we would not have these problems.”

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Comments (27)

  • Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 2:22pm

    God bless our valiant abortionists, true sentinels of liberty, and keep them safe from the vile depredations of freedom’s wicked foes, the fiendish fetus freaks.

    Report this comment

    Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh  
  • Ohthiscrazyworld
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:29am

    Pro choice says they are protecting women ( from what, I’ll never understand, there is no excuse for this). When will they fully understand that abortion is detrimental not only emotionally, but physically as well. This woman has other kids, maybe she just didn’t want another one, period, maybe she did. Now she will probably never know because the complications of this “procedure” will render her body incapable of carrying another one. I cannot find any pros to this. Dead baby, irreparable damage to her body. Even if she doesn’t understand now that this is wrong, she someday will.

    Report this comment

    Ohthiscrazyworld  
    • mewnani
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:53am

      Oh those people? Why they’re protecting women from the ‘stigma’ and ‘burden’ of mothering a child. Haven’t you heard? Apparently creating and loving a baby is now seen as an unthinkable crime.

      Report this comment

      mewnani  
    • Ohthiscrazyworld
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:04am

      @Mewnani- I know. I’m so sad for the whole situation. I tried to read some of that crap from Margaret Sanger. I couldn’t even make it through one page. I try to learn both sides and be informed, wish more people would. I nearly threw up in my mouth when she started in on how large families are detrimental to society at large and to the “poor, poor women whose husbands kept knocking them up”. (emphasis mine)

      Report this comment

      Ohthiscrazyworld  
  • HOOT_OWL
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:25am

    I read this story and see that “PRO ..pro-choice wording “ is sprinkled all through it.

    ____________________________________
    ” Supporters of abortion rights say the procedures are rare and used only in cases where the health of the mother or [child ]is in danger“.
    _______________________________________

    How does a abortion ever end well for the unborn child…?
    Nothing like trying to make a more sympathetic cause by adding
    the welfare of “the child” ..

    ____________________________________

    ‘The procedure involves injecting the [fetus ]with a drug to stop [its ] heartbeat’
    _____________________________________

    In one sentence they act concern for the ‘child and the next they use ‘it’ and ‘fetus’ .
    Disgusting.

    People that believe in pro-choice ,seam to think they have a superior intelligence .
    So if they are so smart how come they fall for this very blatant double-talk .
    Either they are dumber than a box of rocks …Or just plain evil.

    Report this comment

    HOOT_OWL  
  • BLACKDIAMONDSKIER
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:02am

    After progressives successfully condition society to accept late term abortions, society will then be conditioned to accept anything under the guise of choice and privacy. This WILL include after birth abortions of living children. They will start arguing that a 6 week old really has no awareness and it should be a “woman’s right” to decide if they could not make the decision during term. Once society turns that progressive corner………..why not exterminate a few undesirable adults as well? Where have I heard this before? Ohhh yes……Hitler used the exact same tactics to condition Germans to accept the very same things. The propaganda machine even uses phrases such as “women’s right” to deceptively coerce even the innocent into doing what they could have never imagined they would do. Do you ever wonder what it was like for the Germans when they snapped out of the BS they were being fed and finally realized what they had done? Only a progressive German would not have felt remorse. A progressive would have been elated. A human being would have felt sorrow. The countries have changed but the people have not!

    Report this comment

    BLACKDIAMONDSKIER  
  • lokisince89
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:55am

    Since we all know that not every abortion procedure comes out as planed, what if we require every mother having one to carry liability insurance? That way if there is an error society doesn’t need to carry the cost.
    Of course we aren’t going to take your abortions away, or try to price them out of reach, we just want to protect the tax payers in the rare occurrence of a person misusing a constitutionally protected right.

    Report this comment

    lokisince89  
  • AlansTigg
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:34am

    “Supporters of abortion rights say the procedures are rare and used only in cases where the health of the mother or child is in danger”

    Really???? Are there actually people dumb enough to believe this?? How does killing a baby in response to its being in danger work anyway? Seems the greatest danger is the freaking doctor killing it…and I have a hard time understanding how slowly killing and removing the baby is safer for an at risk mother than doing an emergency c-section. As the story clearly demonstrates, there was something wrong with the baby so the mother didn’t want it anymore, this wasn’t a health risk

    Report this comment

    AlansTigg  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:43am

      They are talking about late term abortions, which are in fact rare. It should be the mother’s right to have an abortion at any time during her pregnancy, for any reason at all.

      Report this comment

      Lloyd Drako  
    • LibertySara
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:04am

      Lloyd Drako — Does anyone have a right — legal or moral — to kill their mother, father, sibling, children, or anyone else? If you butcher your children, aren’t you a criminal and monster? And don’t claim the unborn are not people. That is a lie spun to sooth our consciences into believing it is OK to be selfish and there will be no consequenses. I do feel sad for those who have unwanted pregrancies, but the huge majority could have prevented their situation by being responsible people. Bear the child and give it up for adoption.

      Report this comment

      LibertySara  
    • Locked
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:01am

      @Alanstigg

      “How does killing a baby in response to its being in danger work anyway?”

      If the fetus (like the one mentioned in the article) has severe brain abnormalities, undeveloped organs, or a disease that will let it “live” a life of pain for only a few short months, I can actually see an argument for late-term abortion being “ethical.”

      A personal anecdote, a family friend and a good Christian was pregnant years ago with a child she and her husband both very much wanted. In the second trimester it was discovered that due to abnormalities, the fetus was developing without kidneys. As a side effect, other organs (such as the lungs) were underdeveloped. The woman still went through with giving birth, but watching her new child gasp for breath for a few minutes before dying due to non-functioning lungs broke her. While she was pro-life at the time, she is now pro-choice. She’s said, in no uncertain terms, that if it happened again she would have aborted to spare her child that pain; and after being told her story I really cannot fault her reasoning.

      Report this comment

      Locked  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:21am

      @LibertySara:

      I don’t think abortion is right. I too wish people were more responsible, and that there were far fewer abortions. I don’t deny at all that the unborn are in some sense “people.” After all, even a newly fertilized egg has the DNA of a complete human being. However, in most cases there is no “butchery” involved, no blood shed or pain experienced because what is aborted is just that: a newly or recently fertilized egg. Cases such as the one described here are extremely rare, though inevitably seized upon by the anti-choice movement. It’s just that the government should not involve itself in what ought to be a private decision.

      Report this comment

      Lloyd Drako  
    • AlansTigg
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:27am

      @ Locked…I am very sorry for your friend and what the family suffered. I hope they are doing well and have been able to find some peace, can’t imagine the pain of losing a child.

      I just don’t understand how it is legal to kill a baby one minute but a minute later it is outside the womb and now killing that baby, for the exact same reasons, is considered murder. It’s the same baby, same level of development, it’s either a life or it is not. In cases like your friend’s I believe the baby should be sedated so they are not suffering when there is nothing to be done for them…letting them suffer is just cruel to everyone involved especially the baby. If we as a society are not ok with deciding to end a life to stop suffering or a lack of quality of life after birth occurs why are we ok with making those decisions up to the moment of birth? We don’t allow people to make the decision for themselves if they are terminally ill and suffering, but prior to birth it is ok to make it for another person.

      Report this comment

      AlansTigg  
    • LibertySara
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:04am

      Lloyd Drako — No blood or pain? No violence? Just tissue?? Tell that to the dead child. Please watch this short video (1 miute 18 seconds) of an actual early term abortion. It is quite graphic — http://www.abortionno.org/. It shows the procedure. You should be OK watching it because it is only “tissue”. Why watch a graphic video? Because seeing what an abortion actually does changes minds — it takes the mask off of the lie that abortion harms no one.

      Report this comment

      LibertySara  
    • Locked
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:11am

      @Alanstigg

      Thank you for your well-wishes. I am happy to report that they did have a healthy little boy a few after they lost their girl!

      “I just don’t understand how it is legal to kill a baby one minute but a minute later it is outside the womb and now killing that baby, for the exact same reasons, is considered murder.”

      I think society is made up of arbitrary choices like this, by necessity. For example, sleeping with a girl who is 17 years and 364 days old is statutory rape and will land you in prison for 15 years, but the next day it’s legal and has no penalty. What difference is there between those two days? Nothing that you could identify, but we had to set a line for age of majority somewhere, so 18 it is (or 16, in other places).

      It’s similar with abortion. There is little difference between a fetus approaching 9 months and a freshly-birthed child. But there’s a huge difference between a fertlized egg and a freshly-birthed child. Most states have severe restrictions on third-trimester abortions, and only .04% of abortions are within the third trimester – almost all of them for the health of the mother or due to severe abnormalities. Roe only protects the right to a first-trimester abortion.

      I’m not morally ok with abortions of convenience at ANY point, but I’m also not ok with forcing my morality upon others… especially in cases like my family friend’s. I’d never want to force her to endure that again.

      Report this comment

      Locked  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:42am

      @LibertySara:
      I’ve watched the video. There’s blood, dismemberment and pain. There’s also ominous music and grim captions. What there’s not is any explanation of just how “early” or “late” this particular abortion was, or the viability of the fetus, or the health of the mother, or her reasons for having an abortion. Surely these are not irrelevant? “Locked’s” comments on this subject are worth going over, if you haven’t already. Nice try, though.

      Report this comment

      Lloyd Drako  
    • LibertySara
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 12:32pm

      Lloyd Drako — Glad you watched. Maybe you will continue to think about it and learn more about the lies told about abortion. What does it matter how old the child was? Why do you think you are qualified to judge when it is OK to kill it? If the mothers life is in imminent peril, then it is her decision (and a hard one). But that happens ever so rarely. If the child is not healthy, do you kill it in the womb or wait to see if it lives? Who wants to see a child suffer? Either way is not good — killing it in the womb or see in it die after birth, but giving birth to it allows for a chance that it could do OK. Again who are we to think we are in command? Does God have any relevance to you?

      Report this comment

      LibertySara  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 5:19pm

      LibertySara:
      I’m not at all qualified to say when an abortion is justified or appropriate. Only the mother is. That’s the entire point.

      Report this comment

      Lloyd Drako  
  • dublinthewagons
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:28am

    Hippocratic oath. “I will do no harm” these doctors are evil

    Report this comment

    dublinthewagons  
  • mycomet123
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:15am

    God help us all. If this country can abort over 50 million children & think it can walk away scott free from the consequences–good luck. In Genesis 4:10 and the Lord said “What hast thou done? the voice of they brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”–how much more the blood of 50 million murdered babies blood is crying from the ground. The truth of the matter is that if this lady was in a car accident to the way to the abortion clinic & was killed by a drunk driver, her family could sue the drunk driver for the murder of two individuals (mother & unborn child). It’s a selfish society all about ME & MY NEEDS!

    Report this comment

    mycomet123  
  • Taurnil
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:07am

    I disagree with abortion but I strongly disagree with the methods taken by this pro-life group. In my view they are behaving no differently than liberals and progressives that will stop at nothing to make their point. Dragging this woman into the spotlight *and* violating her right to privacy just smacks of hypocrisy by this pro-life group.

    As the article states the patient was made aware of possible complications to which she agreed. Now this group has what appears to be against this woman’s will, willfully violated her rights. This I do not condone.

    If you are going to stand on the rights of the child that does not give you the right to trash the rights of the mother.

    Report this comment

    Taurnil  
  • LibertySara
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:01am

    If we really are so concerned about stopping violence against children, then we need to ban abortion. 4000 children A DAY are butched – dismembered. 54 million + and counting. Face the truth about abortion! Lord have mercy on us for allowing this great evil. He will hold each of us accountable.

    Report this comment

    LibertySara  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love