WASHINGTON -- March 22 -- News Advisory:

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) will hold a media briefing to discuss the issue of medical privacy on March 23. The discussion will focus on the work Planned Parenthood is doing to protect the confidential medical records that are the target of privacy violations launched by attorneys general in Kansas and Indiana.

In Kansas, Attorney General Phill Kline has launched an "inquisition" (K.S.A Chapter 22), demanding approximately 90 records from two reproductive health clinics that perform abortions, including Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Kansas Mid-Missouri. Planned Parenthood has appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court to protect the privacy of its patients and keep the records confidential.

The panel will also discuss a similar situation in Indiana, where Attorney General Stephen Carter dispatched an investigator without warning or legitimate explanation to seize the medical records of eight young people who received reproductive health care at three Planned Parenthood health centers. Planned Parenthood of Indiana has filed a lawsuit to reclaim the taken records and prevent the attorney general from seizing about 70 more records he has claimed he needs.

WHO:

• Karen Pearl, interim president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
  
• Peter Brownlie, CEO and president, Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood of Kansas Mid-Missouri
  
• Roger Evans, senior director, Public Policy Litigation and Law, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
  
• Emily Stewart, policy analyst, Health Privacy Project
  
• Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president of Medical Affairs, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

WHAT: Medical Privacy Media Briefing

WHERE: National Press Club, Zenger Room, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 23, 10 a.m. EST

For more information about Planned Parenthood and medical privacy, please visit
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/proxy-7.xml

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