Jill Stanek and her band of merry Forced Birthers have invaded the privacy of a woman (“Marie”), who recently died during a late-term abortion procedure in Maryland, and are violating HIPAA and common sense standards of decency to do so.
As Bridgette Dunlap describes in detail in her must-read new article “Unethical, Cruel, and Likely Illegal: Anti-Choicers Make Family’s Tragedy Public Without Their Consent,” Stanek has been gleefully blogging about Marie’s death, pretending to care about a woman that she never met but whose loss apparently cuts her to the core.
Not only has Stanek posted private medical information from sources untold, she has posted information that can have no other purpose but to harass Marie and her family. (In one post, Stanek linked to Marie’s baby registry, and when the registry was taken down by Marie’s family, Stanek updated her blog with a screenshot of the registry.) Stanek has also posted photos of Marie snagged from Pinterest, while strangers spurred on by Stanek’s tactics have been tweeting photographs of Marie’s husband leaving Marie’s funeral.
The Forced Birthers are having a field day with this, both online and off-, passing around pictures of Marie’s husband, lobbing accusations about Marie and her husband’s choices, and generally acting like assholes.
When asked to defend their actions, some Forced Birthers are wrapping themselves in the cloak of freedom of speech (a concept which they, of course, do not understand), while others are pointing to the publicity surrounding the death of Savital Halappanavar as justification for their disgusting behavior. )Never mind that Savital’s husband sought out media attention to help ensure that no other woman would have to die from lack of medical care like his wife did, and that Marie’s family did not seek this attention and have, in fact, decried it.)
But, what does that matter? Marie must be made an example of, even if doing so is cruel and unethical. Personally, I hope Marie’s family sues the pants off Jill Stanek. This really is deplorable behavior.
***You really should read the entire article.
Steeplejack (tablet)
Link in the second paragraph is broken. The one at the bottom works.
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@Steeplejack (tablet): got it. thanks!
Ben
Lest we forget, Jill Stanek is the same person who suggested that men beat their wives to prevent them from getting an abortion.
Rex Everything
Good God. I thought the heckling of bereaved Sandy Hook parents was as bad as it could get, but I would never have imagined something like this. The 27% has truly gone off the rails.
muddy
It always comes down to their lack of understanding of consent.
For me but not for thee.
freelancer
OT – but in also in ABL’s wheelhouse, there’s this bit of fuckupedness.
Bulworth
No one could have predicted….
Del
After having read the original article all I have to say is maybe, just maybe, it’s not a good idea to try and go after a guy who just lost his wife and child. If this all goes down peacefully he’s a better person than I. They had a baby registry for fucks sake, it’s not like they wanted this to happen.
David in NY
Terry Schiavo.
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@freelancer: ugh, i saw that yesterday. my brain can’t even process it.
i’m just waiting for black history month to be over already.
Bobby_D
Geez-o-Pete, what a bunch of heartless assholes. I just don’t get why these people(or Westboro Baptist types on the right) think that being gaping assholes to people grieving the loss of family is an effective tactic in promoting your message.
And speaking of assholes…sequester coming, thanks Johnny of Orange. Furlough issues already sent to us, a week ago in anticipation. And aside from the paycut, they are also forcing us onto straight-8 schedules, which means we don’t even get an “extra” day off (most of us work eight 9hr days, one 8hr, and have a day off every two weeks).
The Red Pen
This is douchebaggery of epic proportions.
It might not be a HIPAA violation. I’m pretty sure HIPAA doesn’t protect the records of people who have died. It’s been a while since I checked, though.
Sebastian
HIPAA violations come with serious penalties. In this case she might look at up to 10 years prison.
http://www.biometricsdirect.com/Biometrics/laws/HIPAA/hipaaviolations.htm
Nunya
@The Red Pen: I don’t think that’s true. It’s currently dictated by state law, which generally dictates which of the family members have control over the records and their distribution.
Sebastian
@The Red Pen:
Wrong. HIPAA protects deceased patients PHI. Only legally authorized executors or administrators have access.
Jebediah
@Sebastian:
Good.
Yutsano
@Nunya: In just about every state a spouse is entitled to the others medical information without question. I do believe it’s about the only exemption under HIPAA law. He would have standing to allege a HIPAA violation against whoever gave the info to that witch.
Vince
The other HIPAA question is does it affect people who don’t work in health care? To the best of my knowledge HIPAA only affects health care workers.
Gindy51
@The Red Pen: Absolutely NOT true. When my dad died I could not get any information without going through my step mom. I had even talked to the nurses and doctors before his death and had to get permission again each time I called. The honorable people who work at hospitals take that shit seriously, the dishonorable (like the asshole who gave out Marie’s info) do not and will use anything to forward their agenda.
here’s hoping who ever spewed gets busted BIG time.
dance around in your bones
Has anybody seen this ObamaCare911 baloney on the TV machine? Looks like they are fleecing the rubes into paying $19.95 (+S&H, natch) for some book about how “Obamacare” is going to bankrupt the whole fucking country or some such. Seen it twice today on MSNBC! It makes me wanna spit at the TV.
I will not provide a link. Y’all can find it your own damn selves. I believe you can add a dot com on the end of Obamacare 911 if you can be arsed to check it out. Just……disgusting.
Mark S.
@Vince:
I don’t think so. I work for a financial institution, and we’re governed by HIPAA. We have to be careful how we document when a customer gives us health info.
dance around in your bones
Oh, also too- as regarding HIPAA?
My daughter was entirely successful in getting my full medical records faxed to her mother-in-law’s personal fax machine (we wanted to do that) but I was kinda SHOCKED by how easy it was for her to do.
Just ask, they fax.
scav
Anyone else having to seriously recalibrate their misanthropy? I’m getting the bends here.
The Other Chuck
@dance around in your bones: Grifters gonna grift.
The Red Pen
@Sebastian:
So, I looked it up and it’s more complicated than that.
In general dead people are supposed to have the same rights as live people, but there are exceptions. None of those exceptions apply here as far as I can tell. I had a flame war with a wingnut doctor about 14-15 years ago about how HIPAA was going to destroy medicine as we know it (isn’t that always the case?). Some of the argument had to do with the ability of people to do epidemiology research — which turns out to be one of the exception cases.
In any case, I should remember to Google before I post.
the Conster
@dance around in your bones:
For every argument like that I can weigh in on, I just ask what’s one thing I personally benefited from – just one – for the $4 TRILLION (and counting) that was spent on the Iraq War. No one has been able to answer me, so I tell them to just STFU.
dance around in your bones
@the Conster: Oh, you got that right.
Why are some trillions of $$ A-Ok, and others just anathema? Hell if I know. Especially if one set of trillion $$$ is devoted to killing people and the other set of (supposedly) trillion $$$ is devoted to saving people’s health and lives?
If I see that ad one more time I might break the TV machine. Grrr.
Sebastian
@The Red Pen:
Yes, PHI can be used for research after they have been anonymized to some extent. I had only limited exposure to these scenarios (spent a few years as data architect at a major hospital) and as far as I recall the researchers like to have age, gender, zip, ethnicity, etc (for obvious reasons) and that’s where they clash with regulations. Names however are always a no no.
the Conster
@dance around in your bones:
$4 Trillion buys a lot of stuff – in addition to healthcare, an underground grid (my personal wish), new schools and well-paid teachers, new bridges and tunnels, cancer research, new transit systems, gun buy backs, college tuition subsidies, environmental clean ups. There’s always unlimited cash for bombing, but nothing for the citizens of this country who aren’t the 1%.
Scott S.
So I assume the smart money is that Stanek won’t go to jail, won’t get sued, won’t get in trouble for this, right? The most evil people never seem to face any kind of punishment. >:(
Luthe
@Sebastian:
Researchers also have to go through the IRB approval for dealing with human subjects and private information, the standards of which are ridiculously high. I’ve only dealt with IRB approval peripherally and trust me, it’s intense.
Roger Moore
@Del:
This x eleventy. There are only two plausible reasons for a couple who apparently wanted the child to have a late term abortion:
1) The fetus had some medical condition that would make it unlikely or unable to live after birth, or
2) The mother’s life was in danger and the abortion was the best chance of saving it.
Anyone who steps on the privacy of a family that was in one of those circumstances and wound up having the wife die during the abortion deserves to rot in hell for eternity.
EnfantTerrible
Jill Stanek is a lying douchebag who was fired from her nursing job for repeatedly violating patient confidentiality rules and for lying about her colleagues’ practices regarding premature newborns who weren’t likely to live more than a few hours. Good thing for her that she caught on to the wingnut gravy train, because her career as a nurse is toast.
kc
Jill Stanek sounds like a stalker.
Gravenstone
@EnfantTerrible: So HIPAA violations are nothing new to her, in other words. Charming person, and by charming I mean an utter waste of protoplasm.
YellowJournalism
Sounds like her personal information was being leaked before her death. Either someone working either at the hospital or the clinic was leaking information (I’m thinking this might be true because of the “informant” comment.), or both places need to be looking at some serious breaches in patient privacy and security.
I hope the family sues the pants off these assholes.
YellowJournalism
@EnfantTerrible: Okay, that almost confirms my suspicions about a medical informant. She may have found someone to mentor into a “spy” for her cause.
Sgaile-beairt
jill stanek viciously stalked a woman who blogged about her abortion for slate (9i think, maybe it was salon?) & her readers threatened her until she had to move,, a couple years ago….she is evil evil EVIL and a fracking, fracked up liar!!
Emily
With computers and passwords these days, maybe it would be easy to see who accessed to the medical records. I bet that person would get fired at the very least.
Sgaile-beairt
the blogger stanek persecuted was married & had other kids, btw….death threats & everything….
Del
@Roger Moore: I’m not usually a violent woman, but if my wife and I faced one of those situations and she were to die I have no illusions about the fact that I’d be out for blood if someone tried this with us. Careers, lives, I’d destroy them by any means necessary because, frankly, what would I have to lose that I hadn’t already lost? She’s the worst kind of scum.
This family has my upmost sympathy. Stanek? She deserves…. well, it’s probably best if I not say what I think she deserves.
Darkrose
A couple of years ago, an online acquaintance posted a piece that eventually ran anonymously in Salon about her experience with a late-term abortion that saved her life. Jill Stanek outed her and posted personal information on her website, allowing crazies to find her and leave charming sentiments on her Facebook like “You the lying nigger bitch that wanted a free abortion? What I can’t figure out is how your ugly ass got pregnant!!!! Your old man blind? Fuck you you lying cunt. How many babies have you left on the floor so far?” That was bad, but the actual threats of physical harm to her and her family were much worse. Stanek took absolutely no responsibility for her part in inciting violence that would have left two kids without their mother…but I guess since they’re both black post-fetuses, who cares.
Jill Stanek is a truly horrible human being.
ETA: Sgaile-beairt: Yes, this.
AndoChronic
@Sgaile-beairt
I was going to say something about this situation, which most likely I would have regretted and possibly have been put on a watch list of some sort. Thanks for keeping me in check with the “frackiing”, we just finished the series last night, looovvved it! However, isn’t it “fraking” and not “fracking”?
Forkbeard
I feel like this is one of those moments where technology can really be harnessed for good. Marie’s husband should create a kickstarter for the purposes of suing the crap out of Jill Stanek and whomever she got the priveleged information from. I guarantee it would pass whatever funding threshold they set.
kc
Jill Stanek is officially batshit crazy.
http://www.jillstanek.com/2012/09/buddy-the-cat-important-abortion-not-so-much/
kc
@Darkrose:
What awful people. Jesus.
Sgaile-beairt
@Darkrose: thanks for recalling the details, different computer & i cldnt recall exactly how i read the about it….
@AndoChronic: i always get the BG swear, mixed up w the real life one the koch bros gave us!!
@Forkbeard: like with terry Schiavo or the Halappanavars, the anti choicers have no idea what they are messing wiht, in the real world of real people, not abstractions….
Imani Gandy (ABL)
@Darkrose: sickening.
Forkbeard
@Darkrose: Yep. That’s about on par with what I’d expect from Stanek and her followers. Seriously, what part of “basic decency” do they not understand?
This is compounded by a smirking afterwards, and a completely unbelievable “Of course I don’t condone violence or threats towards the people I’m writing about.” Sigh.
SatanicPanic
@Scott S.: She’ll get her own radio show and/or get elected governor of Florida
Darkrose
@Sgaile-beairt: Karnythia’s been on my LJ feed almost since I got there in 2005. I remember when she posted the story the first time, and then when she posted about Stanek’s asshattery. I also remember at the time thinking that Stanek had no idea who she was messing with.
dance around in your bones
@the Conster:
Agree 1000%. I’d add science research, space exploration, and increased support for ‘entitlements’. Too many people going hungry in this wealthy land. Ok, also bring back the federal funding of state university’s and fucking fuck the private funding of school loans. Free education for all is a public good!
sparrow
@Darkrose: WOW, my god that poor woman. I am glad she wrote about her experience, not all of us would be strong enough. I would like to out that doctor. Asshole.
Vince
@Mark S.:
I guess I should have said does HIPAA only cover people that would handle medical records as a normal part of their jobs or does it cover everyone? I’m guessing it’s only people who would handle medical records.
Sgaile-beairt
and i GUARANTEE that if stanek herself got early eclampsia, or ectopic diagnose, or any of the other zillion ways pregnancy can kill you,
((wait for it)
alltogether now
HER abortion wld be “different” bc SHEs a Good christian woman!!
gelfling545
@dance around in your bones: Have you indicated that your daughter is someone with whom your medical records may be discussed. My Dr. has a list in my file that they update at every visit of whom may have access to my medical info. At present that list includes my 2 daughters & my sister so if they asked, they would receive.
dance around in your bones
These forced birther people should have their own personal lives exposed in this way so they can see how it feels.
Of course, I don’t really think that….but….I mean, I’m sure they have never faced these kind of decisions in their own lives,right? It’s just for other people?
If there was ever a reason to shrink government, I’d start right there. Stay out of my fucking body!!
dance around in your bones
@gelfling545:
I may have done – when I broke my hip I signed a lot of papers while I was stoned out of my gourd on painkillers.
Frankly, it didn’t really bother me much except that I was surprised at how easy it was to get medical records faxed to an unknown personal fax machine. No biggie.
Zapruder F. Mashtots, D.D.S. (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
That Stanek woman sucks ass hard.
Monkey Business
In a previous professional life, I was a Compliance specialist for one of the largest Healthcare providers in the United States. HIPAA, as you can imagine, was something of a specialty of mine.
HIPAA provides the same protection to patients regardless of whether they’re living or dead. Moreover, with the move toward Electronic Medical Records, it’s exceedingly easy to figure out who accessed whose records and what they did with them. It’s all logged and cataloged.
The nurse, administrator, or provider that provided Jill Stanek with the records would absolutely be liable under HIPAA, while Stanek herself would not. Stanek, however, would be liable for knowingly receiving and then publishing stolen property, as there’s absolutely no way she could feign ignorance and suggest that the records were legitimately obtained.
YellowJournalism
@kc: You should probably put a warning up about the one picture she has on that post. On the other hand, Buddy the cat and his owner seem pretty freaking cool.
(The fact that she sent that one picture to someone in retaliation is almost psychotic!)
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Vince:
It covers everyone who works at a medical facility (doctor’s office, medical center, clinic, etc). When I worked in purchasing for a medical center, I had to follow HIPAA, which in my case meant, “You’re not permitted to look at patient records, so don’t do it.”
If a janitor at the hospital overhears patient information and repeats it to someone else, he has violated HIPAA.
The Raven on the Hill
In Illinois, where I believe Stanek lives, cyberstalking is a class 4 felony. A second offense is a class 3 felony. Then there are the HIPPA violations.
I don’t get it. Why is Stanek not in jail?
Sebastian
@The Raven on the Hill:
Maybe we should start calling the DA’s office and ask what they plan on doing?
EnfantTerrible
I do IT work for a hospital and I’m here to tell you, HIPAA is taken very, very seriously. Everyone from the CEO to the orderlies get HIPAA refresher course every year. A HIPAA violator would be looking at jail time and up to $250,000 in fines, IIRC. Rest assured, this will be investigated.