Lab workers sue to keep their names from anti-abortion group
Fri., Aug. 5, 2016
SEATTLE – Researchers and employees for a University of Washington lab that uses tissues obtained from abortions and other procedures have filed a lawsuit to prevent their names from being released to anti-abortion activists.
The Seattle Times reported employees at the Birth Defects Research Center say they fear harassment and violence if their names are given to anti-abortion group The Center for Medical Progress.
The founder, David Daleiden, is responsible for the release of “sting” videos about fetal-tissue experimentation and Planned Parenthood that resulted in a national uproar.
Daleiden and Zachary Freeman with the anti-abortion Family Policy Institute of Washington are named as defendants in the federal class-action lawsuit since they are seeking release of the records through the Washington Public Records Act. The university is named as a defendant as the agency preparing to release the information.
The lawsuit claims to represent up to 150 plaintiffs in Washington and elsewhere.
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