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News of the Day ... in Perspective

4/10/2004

Rush Limbaugh defends “libeled” doctors.

In an article posted on his web site, Rush Limbaugh tells the story about his Fourth District Court of Appeals oral argument over the seizure of his medical records–the part generally ignored by the media.

The state prosecutor violated Florida law by raiding physicians’ offices and seizing medical records under a search warrant, instead of using the proper process–a subpoena that the patient has the right to contest.

“They had no idea what to charge me with until they had seen all the medical records,” Limbaugh said. “They were hoping and praying [that] they find evidence that might lead them to an investigation of a potential crime.” So much for the presumption of innocence, he observed.

Limbaugh lambasted the prosecutor’s logic. “How do you get from drug trafficking and money laundering to something like doctor shopping? Why do you need medical records to find out if somebody’s involved in a drug ring or money laundering? None of that’s going to be in medical records, but the media is not curious about this.”

Limbaugh said that his doctors were men of the highest integrity, who were being dragged through the mud simply because they had cared for him.

“The real purpose of the search warrants was to intimate these doctors” and to drive a wedge between patient and physician, he stated.

Additional information:

AAPS amicus brief defending Rush Limbaugh’s medical privacy. (PDF format)

Pain patients march on Washingon, April 19, 2004

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