Cork spoke for many in this small town in northwestern Iowa, which is at the center of a controversy that has gained national attention involving women’s rights and the right to privacy. Following the discovery of an infant’s remains in a waste recycling center here May 30, the Buena Vista County attorney and sheriff’s office demanded access to women’s medical records from area medical facilities and the right to interrogate all women who had positive pregnancy tests between August 2001 and May 2002.

The Planned Parenthood clinic in Storm Lake, which offers medical services including contraception and pregnancy tests, refused to give over its records. A statement released by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa (PPGI) explained that "turning over confidential medical records would violate medical ethics and state and federal laws protecting the patients’ right to privacy.... This case could set a dangerous precedent, if we are forced to turn over medical records. Patients will be even more reluctant to seek medical care, especially those patients who rely on our confidentiality."

The county hospital and two clinics complied, turning over medical records and identities of several women to county sheriff Chuck Eddy. Sheriff’s deputies then went to several women’s homes, parked their patrol cars in the driveway and interrogated women about their pregnancies.

Alondra Ochoa, 17, was investigated by two cops in her living room. "They told me there was a rumor going around school that I was pregnant [previously]." The cops then asked Ochoa if the infant remains discovered at the recycling center was her baby. After telling them ‘no,’ the cops swabbed her mouth to get a DNA sample. "It was embarrassing," Ochoa said.

Clay County judge Frank Nelson then ordered Planned Parenthood to turn over its records by August 17. Buena Vista County attorney Phil Havens threatened to bring contempt of court charges against clinic director Jill June if she did not comply. If convicted, June could face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. Havens disputes Planned Parenthood’s argument that pregnancy test records are covered by patient-doctor confidentiality laws, stating that pregnancy tests can be administered by staff technicians who are not physicians.

In a victory for the right of women to keep their medical records confidential, the Iowa Supreme Court on August 6 blocked the lower court’s order, which means for now Planned Parenthood does not have to turn over records. On August 30, the court decided to hear Planned Parenthood’s appeal of the original court order and accepted as part of the case a statement by an unidentified woman who says her privacy was invaded when another clinic in Storm Lake disclosed her name, address, workplace, and pregnancy record to the sheriff’s office. The case will be heard in December.

Storm Lake, like many towns in Iowa, is surrounded by fields of corn and soybeans, and its main industry is meat processing. The IBP pork packing plant and the Sara Lee turkey processing operation employ hundreds of immigrant workers from Mexico and Southeast Asia as well as workers from the Midwest.

Velia Porras, an office worker at IBP, told the Militant, "I feel it’s a violation of privacy to get names and records from the clinic."

One of two newspapers in Storm Lake, the Pilot Tribune, ran a poll in late July in which 84 percent of the residents surveyed said, "The records should not be turned over to the courts and the sheriff’s office."

While sentiment among working people in this town runs heavily in support of Planned Parenthood’s refusal to turn over records, not everyone agrees. A young worker at the Sara Lee plant who declined to give his name said he thought the files from Planned Parenthood should be turned over to aid the cops’ investigation as long as the court officer or sheriff who read them was "trustworthy."

Storm Lake Planned Parenthood Clinic manager Sue Thayer told the Militant, "We are still here. We are getting lots of cards and faxes in support of our right not to turn over medical records. Some people say it’s a slippery slope we will begin to slide down if Planned Parenthood’s medical records can be confiscated. Of course some communications are negative but there are less of them."

In a related development, Dave Leach, an outspoken anti-abortion candidate of the Republican Party for the Iowa House of Representatives, has vowed to show footage of women entering the clinic as part of his public access program "The Uncle Ed Show." Responding to the threat, Mediacom, a public access station, has said it will not allow broadcasts that show such footage.

A panel discussion on the Storm Lake case took place at a Militant Labor Forum in Des Moines, August 16.

Jean Classon, Iowa state president of the National Organization for Women, spoke at the forum. "This case is extremely important," she said. "The right to privacy at the center of this case is also at the heart of the 1973 Roe v. Wade supreme court decision legalizing abortion in this country. Women’s rights and the right to privacy must be protected."

Kevin Dwire, speaking for the Socialist Workers Party, explained that under the guise of the "war on terrorism" the U.S. government is carrying out a war on working people and farmers at home and abroad, which features stepped-up attacks on workers’ rights in many forms.

Dwire, a meat packer, who had participated in a fact-finding trip to Storm Lake, described the response of young women, immigrant workers at the packing plants, and others to the assault on women’s rights taking place. He further explained, "The fight to defend women’s rights is necessary because of centuries of oppression of women since the rise of class society. Defending women’s rights is part of unifying our class and building a movement capable of replacing capitalism with a workers and farmers government."

Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa sent a statement on its position and a note of appreciation to the forum organizers for holding the program.

Mary Martin is a sewing machine operator in Des Moines, Iowa. Kevin Dwire in Des Moines also contributed to this article.  
 
 
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