Researchers and other employees affiliated with the Birth Defects Research Laboratory at the University of Washington (UW) filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block abortion-rights opponents from obtaining personal identifying information through a public-disclosure request, the Seattle Times reports.
A hearing in the lawsuit has not yet been scheduled (Carter, Seattle Times, 8/4).
Background
In July 2015, the antiabortion-rights group Center for Medical Progress (CMP) began releasing a series of misleading videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue donation. Planned Parenthood has stated that the videos were heavily edited and that the filmed officials did not conduct any illegal activities. Further, a report by Fusion GPS, a research and corporate intelligence firm, found that the videos were manipulated.
Following the release of the videos, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) called for the Harris County district attorney to launch a criminal investigation into Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. The Harris County grand jury tasked with investigating Planned Parenthood cleared the organization of any wrongdoing and instead indicted CMP Director David Daleiden and employee Sandra Merritt. Last month, a Texas judge dismissed the charges filed against Daleiden and Merrit based on a legal technicality (Women's Health Policy Report, 7/27).
According to the Times, Daleiden and Zachary Freeman, communications director for the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW), requested records from UW's Birth Defects Research Center under the Washington Public Records Act. Daleiden and Freeman filed the request after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing related to the videos, as well as after a media report about the research lab.
Details on Wash. lawsuit
The latest lawsuit, filed against Daleiden and Freeman, seeks an injunction to prevent the university from releasing identifying information. UW is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit since the university is being asked to release the information (Seattle Times, 8/4).
The eight plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit as Jane and John Does, include three UW employees, employees affiliated with three hospitals in the state, one Planned Parenthood employee and one former employee for Planned Parenthood (Williams, Courthouse News Service, 8/5). According to the Times, the plaintiffs are seeking class-action status to represent up to 150 individuals affiliated with the UW research center, Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and Idaho, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Cedar River Clinics and Evergreen Hospital Medical Center.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs asked U.S. District Judge James Robart to first identify employees and researchers at Planned Parenthood and UW who would be affected if the requested information was made public and then to bar UW from disclosing any materials that include identifying information on those individuals. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs do not oppose the submission of the requested materials so long as the identifying information is redacted.
The plaintiffs said they could face antiabortion-rights harassment and violence if their identifying information is released. Citing last year's shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic, the plaintiffs stated, "With the rancor Daleiden has fueled comes a threat of violence for individuals participating at any level in fetal tissue donation and research programs" (Seattle Times, 8/4).
In the complaint, the plaintiffs explained, "Daleiden and [CMP] played a direct role in creating [a] political climate" around abortion care and fetal tissue donation that "has resulted in investigations by numerous state attorneys general and federal congressional committees." The complaint noted that while "none of the investigations have found any evidence of wrongdoing," the resulting "climate and attention" has caused "employees of such medical providers across the country, including in Washington State and including several individual Doe plaintiffs, [to be] harassed, threatened, or [to witness] incidents of violence due to their possible affiliation with fetal tissue donations."
Janet Chung, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs, added, "We know all too well the importance of protecting the privacy and safety of clinicians and researchers involved in controversial issues, such as fetal tissue donation" (Courthouse News Service, 8/5).
