By Stephanie Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 31, 2008
One of the nation’s few late-term abortion doctors was ordered Wednesday to turn over about 2,000 patient medical records to a Kansas grand jury investigating his practice.Abortion opponents hope that the records will lead to further criminal charges against Dr. George Tiller, who already is facing 19 misdemeanor counts stemming from late-second and third-trimester abortions at his clinic in Wichita.
Tiller’s lawyers say he scrupulously follows the law. They plan to ask the Kansas Supreme Court to overturn a state district court judge’s ruling that Tiller begin handing over files as early as today.
“It’s an unprecedented encroachment upon a woman’s right to privacy,” attorney Dan Monnat said.
Monnat was joined in court by a lawyer from the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, who filed affidavits from three patients demanding that their medical records remain private.
Even though the judge ordered names and addresses removed from the files, the patients said they feared their identities could be deduced from details about their families and medical histories. The antiabortion group Operation Rescue has given the grand jury several photos that it says show pregnant women entering Tiller’s clinic; the same pictures are posted online, with the women’s faces blurred.
“Even thinking about the possibility of anti-choice extremists identifying me has caused my partner and I great distress,” one woman wrote.
The unfolding legal dispute treads familiar ground.
Tiller spent three years battling a subpoena for a much smaller group of medical records sought by former Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, an opponent of legal abortion. The Kansas Supreme Court eventually forced Tiller to turn over 60 records on the condition that an independent lawyer first review them to redact names, addresses and other information not relevant to the criminal inquiry.
After Kline was voted out of office, his successor — a supporter of abortion rights — charged Tiller with the misdemeanors.
In that case, which has not yet gone to trial, Tiller is accused of aborting viable fetuses without consulting an independent physician as required by state law. He did consult a second doctor, but the prosecution alleges that she was not truly independent because all her income came from her occasional work with Tiller.
The grand jury investigating possible additional charges against Tiller is demanding the medical records of every patient who sought or obtained an abortion after her 21st week of pregnancy, or midway through the second trimester. The panel wants records dating back to July 1, 2003.
The grand jury also has subpoenaed the names and addresses of Tiller’s employees and of physicians who have worked with him. -More>
Archive for January, 2008
From Slashdot:
#1 Millions in Middle East Lose Internet
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 31, @02:54AM
“Tens of millions of internet users across the Middle East and Asia have been left without access to the web after a technical fault cut millions of connections. The outage, which is being blamed on a fault in a single undersea cable, has severely restricted internet access in countries including India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and left huge numbers of people struggling to get online. Observers say that the digital blackout first struck yesterday morning, with the Egypt’s communications ministry suggesting it was caused by a cut in a major internet pipeline linking it to Europe.”
#2 Australian Police Chief Seeks Terror Reporting Ban
Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 31, @12:02AM
“News.com.au reports that Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty has called for a media blackout on reporting of terrorism investigations and cases before trial in a speech to the Sydney Institute last night. Although he doesn’t believe public institutions be immune from public accountability, he goes on to say that public discussion should be delayed until information is made available by the courts or legal proceedings are complete. This all comes after last years widely reported case of Dr. Mohammed Haneef who was detained then later deported from Australia on evidence described as weak — and seen by some including Haneef as a conspiracy.”
From John Edwards ‘08 Official Website:
Thank you all very much. We’re very proud to be back here.
During the spring of 2006, I had the extraordinary experience of bringing 700 college kids here to New Orleans to work. These are kids who gave up their spring break to come to New Orleans to work, to rehabilitate houses, because of their commitment as Americans, because they believed in what was possible, and because they cared about their country.
I began my presidential campaign here to remind the country that we, as citizens and as a government, have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters. We must do better, if we want to live up to the great promise of this country that we all love so much.
It is appropriate that I come here today. It’s time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history. We will be strong, we will be unified, and with our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November and we’ll create hope and opportunity for this country. -More>
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A man who was arrested by Orange County deputies was stripped of his pants, strapped to a chair, Tasered repeatedly while in handcuffs and slammed to the floor with a knee to his head, a newly released videotape shows.
The 13-minute video, given to The Associated Press on Wednesday by the man’s attorney, was taken in March 2006 after Matthew Fleuret was arrested during a barroom brawl in San Clemente.
His attorney, Stephen Bernard, has filed a $47 million lawsuit against the county, and recently obtained the grainy footage during preparation for the trial. The tape begins with silent, black-and-white footage from a stationary security camera and then moves to colored footage with audio taken by a sheriff’s deputy using a handheld video recorder.
Fleuret, a construction worker, was not charged and was released within 24 hours, the attorney said. He has no criminal record, Bernard said.
Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino referred calls to Bill Haluck, an attorney for the county. Haluck did not return calls for comment.
Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said her office has received no complaints about Fleuret’s treatment and has not launched an investigation.
Arrest and booking records show that deputies fired a stun gun at Fleuret at least 10 times in the county jail. The arresting officer wrote that he sprayed Fleuret twice with pepper spray and hit him in the legs with a baton as he tried to break up a fight at the bar.
The first portion of the video shows Fleuret sitting handcuffed on a bench as he waits to be booked. A deputy walks up and appears to elbow Fleuret on the side of the head.
The video then shows two deputies escorting Fleuret down a hallway, but as they approach the doorway to a medical unit, Fleuret shouts “No,” followed by an expletive. He begins to struggle and at least six deputies swarm him and wrestle him to the ground.
Someone commands “Tase him!” and “Tase him again!” as Fleuret screams. One deputy can be seen pinning his neck to the floor with his knee, while several other deputies appear to use their hands to hold his back and legs down.
Fleuret repeatedly screams, “I can’t breathe!” as a deputy urges him to relax.
Fleuret is then dragged into the medical unit and someone pulls down his jeans. Several other deputies hoist him into a chair, secure straps across his chest and place a black, transparent hood over his head — a “spit guard” to keep him from spitting at deputies.
Bernard said Fleuret, who now lives in Utah, was seriously injured.
“He’s got rotator cuff injuries, he probably will need surgery,” Bernard said. “He has damage to both wrists, he has a head injury, he’s got a concussion, he’s got visual problems.” More…
This video is a bit moody to load, but it will eventually. I had to link to a news station, because it is the longest video of the incident I could find. You can watch the video here. Just remember while watching, that this man was not charged with anything. Welcome to the police state. -Sue
By JIM SUHR, Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy, frustrated by ballooning costs for an ambitious plan to build a virtually emissions-free power plant, told federal lawmakers Tuesday it expects to pull its support for the $1.8 billion project in Illinois, lawmakers said.
The Energy Department would not publicly divulge its intentions about the plant, dubbed FutureGen, or discuss what was said during the private meeting with lawmakers, saying only that it planned an announcement within days.
But some lawmakers who attended the briefing later insisted that building the coal-fired, 275-megawatt prototype power plant anywhere other than the central Illinois town of Mattoon would be unacceptable — and grounds for a possibly nasty congressional fight.
Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, accused Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman of “cruel deception” of Illinoisans by “creating false hope in a FutureGen project which he has no intention of funding or supporting.”
Durbin said Illinois’ delegation in Congress “is going to make the case for FutureGen directly to the President.”
“We will not go down without a fight,” he said.
The FutureGen Alliance, a coalition of power and coal companies, last month announced that the plant would be built in Mattoon, under a plan that called for the DOE to cover three-quarters of the cost. The site was chosen over Tuscola, Ill., and two sites in Texas.
But the DOE had wanted the announcement delayed until the project could be redesigned and the costs reduced. The department also said it wasn’t ready to issue its final notice that Mattoon was environmentally acceptable.
Bodman declined to discuss the Energy Department’s plans Tuesday with The Associated Press, and a statement issued by his agency did not divulge what the department has in mind for FutureGen.
While saying it “remains committed to FutureGen’s objectives to advance the availability and use of clean-coal technology to meet growing demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the department said it “believes that the public interest mandates that FutureGen deliver the greatest possible technological benefits in the most cost-efficient manner.”
Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for the alliance, said developers have heard from the Energy Department “about the need to restructure the program,” but would not speculate about what might happen.
The alliance earlier this month offered to assume a greater share of the project’s cost to allay government concerns, lowering the DOE obligation to the same level as when the project was announced in 2003 — it then was $800 million and now is around $1.33 billion.
The alliance said it would cover the rest and assume any further cost increases, through a combination of bank financing and repayments from revenue generated by the plant.
The DOE, in its first response to the offer, objected Tuesday, saying in a statement that if the alliance defaulted on its debt, the department could be left to pay the bill or the plant could wind up in the hands of lenders.
FutureGen aims to test the commercial and environmental viability of using coal to generate energy while capturing the carbon dioxide and storing it underground. Scientists say the greenhouse gas is one of the drivers of climate change.
Finalist sites all coveted the roughly 3,000 construction jobs the plant was expected to generate while being built, plus another 150 permanent jobs.
Rep. Jerry Costello, a Democrat from Belleville, Ill., accused Bodman’s department of “cutting and running on a project that is critical to our nation’s energy future.”
Rep. John Shimkus, a Republican from nearby Collinsville, Ill., said “our greatest fears have been realized” with the Energy Department’s pullout.
“Now we have to regroup and review all of our options as we move forward,” Shimkus said in a statement. “President Bush proposed FutureGen in 2003, and we will start by reaching out to him.” More…
Lots of luck with that. -Sue
By Lisa Richwine, Reuters
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel voted on Tuesday to subpoena documents from a member of President George W. Bush’s cabinet for a February hearing on the Ketek antibiotic made by Sanofi-Aventis.
The panel has been investigating how France’s biggest pharmaceutical company and the FDA handled Ketek, which the agency approved in 2004 despite finding that a key safety study, known as Study 3014, was tainted by fraud.
The House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee voted 12-0 to issue a subpoena to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt, asking him to produce unredacted records prepared for the FDA commissioner’s appearance at a March 2007 hearing on Ketek. Leavitt’s department oversees the FDA.
The FDA and HHS have refused to provide those documents, said Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat and the subcommittee chairman.
The panel also approved subpoenas for two current FDA investigators, one former FDA investigator and a former employee of a company that monitored the controversial study.
Stupak said congressional investigators had interviewed most of those witnesses but needed subpoenas to compel their testimony at a hearing scheduled for Feb. 12.
The panel wants to question the witnesses about “their knowledge of whether Aventis was aware of substantial data integrity problems in Study 3014 at the time of submission to FDA,” Stupak said. Aventis was bought by Sanofi-Synthelabo and merged to form Sanofi-Aventis.
Reports of severe liver damage and death in some Ketek users emerged in 2006. The FDA withdrew Ketek’s approval for sinusitis and bronchitis in 2007 after deciding the drug was too risky for treating those relatively mild infections. Sanofi still sells Ketek to treat pneumonia. More…
From Slashdot:
The ACLU is trying to block an Ohio county from moving from touchscreen voting machines back to paper ballots. While it may seem like Cuyahoga County — which includes Cleveland — is moving in a good direction from the perspective of ballot security, the system chosen tabulates all votes at a central location. This means that voters don’t get notified if their ballot contains errors, and thus they have no chance to correct it. The ACLU of Ohio is asking a federal judge for an injunction against any election in Cuyahoga County it they move to the new system. -More>
Filed under, “This Crap Again?!”
From ThinkProgress:
Since the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran said the country halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton has made every attempt to press on for bombing Iran. Voicing his support for the major Republican presidential candidates — who have supported attacking Iran — today on Fox News, Bolton said Iran’s “mullahs”want a Democratic president elected in 2008 in order to ensure that they can continue to pursue building a nuclear weapon:
Well, I don’t think it’s discussed sufficiently. But I think in part what the mullahs in Tehran are thinking about, looking at the odds of who might win, or at least what the conventional wisdom is about the Democratic nominee winning. I think they’re going try and string this thing out in hopes that they’ll find some more pliable administration in the White House.
Interview Continues with Video.
ST. LOUIS - Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years, a VA official said Monday as he apologized to affected families and pledged reform.
The hospital in Marion, Ill., initially drew scrutiny over deaths connected to a single surgeon, but two federal reports found fault with five other doctors.
The hospital undertook many surgeries that its staffing or lack of proper surgical expertise made it ill-equipped to handle, and hospital administrators were too slow to respond once problems surfaced, said Dr. Michael Kussman, U.S. veterans affairs undersecretary for health.
“I can’t tell you how angry we all are and how frustrated we all are. Nothing angers me more than when we don’t do the right thing,” Kussman told reporters during a conference call after releasing findings of the VA’s investigation and summarizing a separate inspector general’s probe.
Still, Kussman insisted, “what happened in Marion is an exception to what otherwise is a truly quality health-care system” across the VA.
The VA will help affected families file administrative claims under the VA’s disability compensation program, he said. Families also could sue.
The VA investigation found that at least nine deaths between October 2006 and March last year were “directly attributable” to substandard care at the Marion hospital, which serves veterans from southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky.
Kussman declined to identify those cases by patient or doctor, though Rep. Jerry Costello, an Illinois Democrat, said those nine deaths were linked to two surgeons he did not name.
Of an additional 34 cases the VA investigated, 10 patients who died received questionable care that complicated their health, Kussman said. Investigators could not determine whether the care actually caused the deaths.
Doctor had been barred from practicing
Veizaga-Mendez — identified in Monday’s report as “Surgeon A” — resigned from the hospital Aug. 13, three days after a patient from Kentucky bled to death after gallbladder surgery. All inpatient surgeries stopped a short time later.
Veizaga-Mendez’s whereabouts are unclear. He has no listed telephone number and has been unreachable for comment.
The Marion VA hired Veizaga-Mendez in January 2006 after he practiced in Massachusetts, where he was under investigation for substandard care in 2004 and 2005. The claims include allegations that he botched seven cases, two ending in deaths.
Veizaga-Mendez was permanently barred from practicing medicine in Massachusetts last November — a disciplinary move that also requires him to resign other state medical licenses he may hold and withdraw pending license applications. He has also made payouts in two Massachusetts malpractice lawsuits. More…
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