Court Halts Effort to Get Pregnancy Test Records

Planned Parenthood will not have to turn over pregnancy test records to Buena Vista County authorities under a temporary stay granted Tuesday by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The county wants the information for an investigation into a dead baby boy found at a recycling center in May. Authorities had asked Planned Parenthood’s Storm Lake clinic for the names and addresses of women who had a positive pregnancy test between Aug. 15, 2001, and May 30, 2002.

District Judge Frank Nelson had ordered the information be turned over by Aug. 17, but the stay effectively freezes the compliance date.

Planned Parenthood filed its motion and a petition for an appeal Friday, arguing that the information is private medical information that cannot be released without consent.

“This really pulls the fuse out of the situation,” Planned Parenthood director Jill June said.

The state Supreme Court set a deadline of Aug. 19 to file a written response to the appeal petition. Buena Vista County Atty. Phil Havens said he needed to review the court documents before he does anything.

Medical records are confidential under Iowa law. But Havens has argued that the files are not medical records because the staff who provided pregnancy tests are not required to be doctors or nurses.

Investigators say the records would help them find the mother of the baby--believed to be 24 to 48 hours old--whose body was found May 30.