Posted on 08/14/2022 7:24:12 PM PDT by Morgana
As states begin to implement abortion bans and restrictions, criminal cases involving illegal abortions have grabbed headlines, begging the question of what privacy rights women and girls have in these matters.
Experts told ABC News that the rules for investigations into all crimes are the same, even though in many places, abortion was not a crime just a few months ago.
This means that with enough incriminating evidence, investigators can legally search through internet activity, including private messages, according to experts.
"In general, access to communication records is the same for any alleged crime," Peter Swire, a professor of privacy law at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told ABC News in an interview. "Essentially, [investigators] have to prove probable cause of a crime and probable cause that the search for the records will produce evidence of a crime."
A recent case involving a Nebraska mother and her daughter who allegedly had an illegal abortion sparked controversy after a judge forced Facebook's parent company Meta to turn over communications between the two, without their knowledge.
Even though in this case, the alleged abortion occurred before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, it was illegal under a 2010 state law banning abortions at 20 weeks. Similar charges could be brought against people seeking, aiding or facilitating abortions in states implementing new bans or restrictions.
Swire said that before a judge signs off on allowing police to gather communication evidence, they assess all the evidence available and decide whether a communications search warrant is legally justified.
"So, unless there is a specific federal rule, preventing access to records for abortion-related crimes, the standard rules apply. That is, the same rules apply for access to records for a robbery or an abortion-related crime," Swire said.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Next to AP, I think ABC is the worse ( No one watches CNN and MSNBC). I’m Rita Foley, ABC News. Makes me want to hurl every time there is ABC news break when I am listening to talk radio.
Yea I know but once in a while I think it’s good to post what the left is saying. Now we know why there are so many abortions going on and why people think the way they do.
Privacy ended when the ACA was passed.
Wear a condom and use the pill you have over a 99.998% efficacy rate. Don’t kill a child because you were irresponsible. You wore a mask for two years, can’t you wear a rubber for 20 minutes?
That works for the time being. However, privacy laws need to be strengthened. The 4A needs to be respected. Being pro-life and pro-privacy are not mutually exclusive.
What “privacy rights” exist for any crime?
What “privacy rights” exist for any conspiracy?
Probably not much, although I would guess it varies depending on the actual crime/conspiracy.
If “xxx” is a crime, privacy does not exist. You can’t claim that no one can ask about why your spouse suddenly died “cause that is private”.
Grow the ‘Ell up.
This whole link to privacy via the Constitution was BS from the beginning.
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