by TChris

The Justice Department has withdrawn the subpoena that it issued to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for the records of women who received abortions. Other courts confronting similar Justice Department subpoenas have protected the privacy of those records, but Judge Casey in the Southern District of New York held the hospital in contempt for failing to produce redacted versions of the records. The Justice Department contended that the records would help it defend a constitutional challenge against a law that bans a particular abortion procedure.

The Justice Department says it changed its position because it wants the case to be resolved promptly. Maybe. Or maybe the Justice Department knew it would lose on appeal. Or maybe the Justice Department realized that its position was inconsisent with the President's pledge to support the privacy interests of patients. In any event, if the judge grants the Department's request to vacate the contempt order, the Department's misguided attempt to obtain the records will finally be laid to rest.