Justice Department Drops Abortion Record Hunt

[Beetwasher]

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department (news - web sites) is dropping its effort to subpoena abortion records from six Planned Parenthood (news - web sites) affiliates as part of the government's defense of a new law barring certain late-term abortions, officials said Tuesday.

Government lawyers said they were forced to withdraw the subpoenas because of U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton's ruling in San Francisco last week that the records could not be introduced in a trial of a challenge to the law brought by Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

--snip--

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&e=2&u=/ap/abortion_records

Interesting that this happens when Ashcroft is incapacitated. I wonder if someone took advantage of that fact and decided to act with some semblence of sanity and actually listen to a Federal Judge for a change.

[supernova]

1. Yay! A point for sanity!

I couldn't be happier.

I don't care if it took Ashcroft being incapacitated to help it happen.

What else can be ameliorate while he's laid up?

[elfin]

2. Somebody remembered it's an election year

and got scared that this was going too far for moderate rethugs and soccer moms. It was OK to feed the base to ask for the records, but not OK to actually fight Planned Parenthood in the courts during the election cycle.

But IF the worst happens and Chimp wins with solid majorities in Congress (and of course the court), it will done.

[Ms. Clio]

3. some good news for a change

Thank god.

[Moderator]

4. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=411368