VICTORY FOR THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY: U.S. Court of Appeals declares Arizona’s “TRAP” regulations unconstitutional
Washington, DC – An important victory for informational privacy occurred last month when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision declaring sections of Arizona’s Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (T.R.A.P.) unconstitutional. Fortunately for the women of Arizona, several provisions were struck down that would have severely threatened the privacy rights of women who receive reproductive health care and other patients, as these laws would apply to many private physicians' offices as well. Amongst these provisions was a law that allowed health department officials to search virtually all aspects of providers' offices -including private patient records - without a warrant and without patient privacy protections in place. Cheryl Sullivan, Board Chair of NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, said, “Unlike the federal government, in which the Justice Department demanded that thousands of women turn over their private medical records for John Ashcroft’s perusal, the pro-choice majority of Arizona can now rest at night knowing that the government will not have access to their private medical records.” Sullivan continued, “This case represents an important victory with respect to informational privacy, but it remains to be seen whether the rest of the TRAP scheme will be upheld in the future. We at NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona look forward to serving Arizona’s pro-choice community, and hope to assist in extending these gains.”
| 
