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Planned Parenthood's files might not be secret much longer.

Attorney Brian Hurley argued before an Ohio appeals court this week that he should have access to Planned Parenthood's records so he can find out whether its clinics have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to reporting incidents of abuse.

Hurley is handling two lawsuits against Planned Parenthood, including one in Warren County by Denise Fairbanks, a Mason resident. Her father, John Blanks Jr., started raping her in 2000 when she was 13, according to her lawsuit filed May 7.

At 16, her father impregnated her and took her to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Cincinnati for an abortion, according to the lawsuit. Fairbanks told workers at the clinic her father had forced her to commit sexual acts for years.

No one at the clinic reported the abuse to authorities and Fairbanks suffered another year-and-a-half of sexual abuse at the hands of Blanks, according to her lawsuit.

Becki Brenner, CEO of the southwest Ohio region of Planned Parenthood, said she could not discuss the lawsuits. Her agency is appealing a decision in Hamilton County to turn over records. However, Brenner denied Planned Parenthood has a "don't ask don't tell" policy.

"We report. Our primary concern is the safety of that young woman," Brenner said. "It is just ludicrous to think that we would not put that first and foremost in our practice. We want to report that immediately to keep that young person safe."

Blanks' father was sent to prison for five years after being convicted in September on four counts of sexual battery.

Hurley said that if the appeals court finds in his favor as a trial court did, it will be a landmark decision.

"I am almost positive this is the first time in the United States that a court in a civil case has ever ordered Planned Parenthood to turn over its records," Hurley said. "We'll see if we keep winning through the appeals, but it was a huge preliminary victory."

Similar cases have been filed around the country. In Indiana and Kansas, the state attorneys general went after Planned Parenthood seeking the information to bolster criminal cases against the abortion clinics. The Indiana case resulted in a win for Planned Parenthood at the appeals court level, and the attorney general decided not to ask pursue the case before the Indiana Supreme Court.

However, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the records released.

Ashley Anstaett, a spokeswoman for the Kansas attorney general's office, said state authorities are reviewing Planned Parenthood's records but declined to comment about the investigation.