WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Lawyers for a multimillionaire philanthropist can seek abortion records of women suing him for sexually molesting them, a Florida judge has ruled.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Donald Hafele told Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers Wednesday there are limits on their ability to subpoena abortion records, The Palm Beach Post reported. They can only do so when women are questioned about their history of abortions, and the records will not become public and may not be usable at trial.
Epstein served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. He has been sued by women who say that as teenagers they were paid to give him sexual massages at his Palm Beach mansion.
Louis Silver, a lawyer for the Presidential Women's Health Clinic, said the judge's ruling is setting up a constitutional fight. He said the Florida Constitution includes a right to privacy that would bar abortion records from being subpoenaed.
During a December hearing, one of Epstein's lawyers asked a woman identified as Jane Doe 4 about the psychological impact of having three abortions.
