Advertisement

Abortion records found in recycling bin

KANSAS CITY, Kan., March 27 (UPI) -- A Kansas City, Mo., newspaper says it retrieved records of more than 1,000 patients at a now-closed abortion clinic from a suburban recycling bin.

The Kansas City Star reported it was tipped off about the records by a woman who found them Saturday while dumping her own recyclables in Overland Park, Kan. The Star removed the records and is keeping them locked up.

Advertisement

Krishna Rajanna, who ran Affordable Medical and Surgical Care Services in Kansas City, Kan., until authorities closed it down and pulled his medical license in 2005, admitted dumping the records.

"I was under the impression that these would not be seen by anyone," Rajanna told the Star. "I thought that these would be recycled away just like any other papers."

The records included sensitive information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, emergency contacts, health histories and whether or not they had proceeded with abortions.

Rajanna appears to have violated both Kansas laws that say medical records must be kept for at least 10 years and federal privacy law. Susan McAndrew, an official in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department's office of civil rights, said she was unsure any action could be taken given that Rajanna's clinic is closed and he is no longer practicing medicine.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines