And so it begins. Or rather, continues. I'll try to keep my expletives to a minimum, as I realize they tend to devalue an otherwise credible argument, but this sort of thing makes me want to put grad school on hold, temporarily move to DC, and work full time for the women's movement. That's how serious this is. The Justice Department (no doubt at the behest of John Ashcroft) has requested patient medical records from at least 6 hospitals in NY, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other cities. Why? To defend the partial-birth abortion ban. The plan is to "prove" that late-term abortions were performed when they were not "medically necessary." That's right, a justice department that has its head so far up its ass it passed a bill that didn't even contain medical language is now going to determine when a procedure is medically necessary. Apparently being a lawyer and being a doctor just became the same thing. Thank god at least one judge has a semblence of reasoning left:

"A woman's relationship with her doctor and her decision on whether to get an abortion 'are issues indisputably of the most sensitive stripe,' and they should remain confidential 'without the fear of public disclosure,' the judge, Charles P. Kocoras, wrote in a decision first reported by Crain's business journal in Chicago."

-snip-

"Advocates for abortion rights said they were particularly troubled by the subpoenas because of Attorney General John Ashcroft's history as an outspoken opponent of abortion in his days in the Senate.

'This notion of John Ashcroft poring over medical records in a fairly unprecedented type of fishing expedition is exactly the type of privacy invasion that worries people,' said David Seldin, a spokesman for Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights organization. 'The government just shouldn't be involving itself in private medical decisions and second-guessing doctors' ability to advise their patients properly.'"

Even if you personally are not pro-choice, even if this isn't your particular fight, you must realize that this level of invasion of privacy is insane! Just in case you were still wondering, this is why it's SO IMPORTANT to march in Washington in April. And if you need more reasons, google the phrase war against women.