Planned Parenthood supplies researchers at the University of Washington's Birth Defects Research Center with body parts obtained during abortions. Pro-life activists led by the Center for Medical Progress - David Daleiden filed records requests about these practices. A federal judge granted a temporary injunction on the information after receiving a request filed by several people associated with the lab to have information redacted from the publicly available documents.
Daleiden's attorney, Peter Breen, who is also general counsel for the non-profit Thomas More Society, said that such a move threatens government transparency.
"The people have a right to know how their government is run. The plaintiffs here work at a taxpayer-funded state university, and their work is subject to the same sunshine and open records laws as any other government employee," Breen said in a release.
The university has filed a brief with the court in support of the researchers, some of whom are not government employees. A university spokesman said that while it supports the Freedom of Information Act, it is also concerned with employee safety. He said that redacting names would not hinder the public's right to know.