Current:Home > reviewsTexas sues to stop a rule that shields the medical records of women who seek abortions elsewhere -CapitalEdge
Texas sues to stop a rule that shields the medical records of women who seek abortions elsewhere
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:42:53
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has sued the Biden administration to try to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women from criminal investigations if they cross state lines to seek abortion where it is legal.
The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks to overturn a regulation that was finalized in April. In the suit filed Wednesday in Lubbock, Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the federal government of attempting to “undermine” the state’s law enforcement capabilities. It appears to be the first legal challenge from a state with an abortion ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the nationwide right to abortion.
The rule essentially prohibits state or local officials from gathering medical records related to reproductive health care for a civil, criminal or administrative investigation from providers or health insurers in a state where abortion remains legal. It is intended to protect women who live in states where abortion is illegal.
In a statement, HHS declined comment on the lawsuit but said the rule “stands on its own.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to protecting reproductive health privacy and ensuring that no woman’s medical records are used against her, her doctor, or her loved one simply because she got the lawful reproductive care she needed,” the agency said.
Texas’ abortion ban, like those in other states, exempts women who seek abortions from criminal charges. The ban provides for enforcement either through a private civil action, or under the state’s criminal statutes, punishable by up to life in prison, for anyone held responsible for helping a woman obtain one.
It’s not clear whether public officials have sought patient medical records related to abortion. But the state has sought records related to gender-affirming care, demanding them from at least two out-of-state health centers last year. Like many Republican-controlled states, Texas bans gender-affirming care for minors.
At least 22 Democratic-controlled states have laws or executive orders that seek to protect medical providers or patients who participate in abortion from investigations by law enforcement in states with bans.
The federal regulation in question is an update to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which prohibits medical providers and health insurers from divulging medical information about patients. Typically, however, law enforcement can access those records for investigations.
A group of Republican attorneys general, all from states with strict abortion laws, had urged Health and Human Services to ditch the rule when a draft was released last year. In a 2023 letter to HHS, the group said the regulation would unlawfully interfere with states’ authority to enforce laws.
“With this rule, the Biden Administration makes a backdoor attempt at weakening Texas’s laws by undermining state law enforcement investigations that implicate medical procedures,” Paxton said in a news release.
Liz McCaman Taylor, senior federal policy counselor at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said federal law has long provided enhanced protection for sensitive health information.
“But Texas is suing now, not because of its concern with state sovereignty, but because of its hostility to reproductive health,” she said.
__
Associated Press reporter Jamie Stengle contributed from Dallas.
veryGood! (72514)
Related
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Powerball winning numbers for April 20 drawing: Lottery jackpot rises to $98 million
- The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend, but it may be hard to see it
- The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this weekend, but it may be hard to see it
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy dies months after being injured in fire inside mobile gun range
- 'Child care desert': In this state, parents pay one-third of their income on child care
- Valerie Bertinelli and her new boyfriend go Instagram official with Taylor Swift caption
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Schools keep censoring valedictorians. It often backfires — here's why they do it anyway.
Ranking
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- North Carolina medical marijuana sales begin at Cherokee store
- Jeannie Mai Reveals the Life Lessons She's Already Learning From Her 2-Year-Old Daughter
- Parents arrested after 1-month-old twins were found dead at Houston home in October 2023
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Roman Gabriel, NFL MVP and College Football Hall of Fame quarterback, dies at 83
- 2 brothers condemned to die for the ‘Wichita massacre’ want a new sentencing hearing
- Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley Mourn Death of Vampire Diaries Makeup Artist Essie Cha
Recommendation
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
Sen. Mark Warner says possible TikTok sale is complicated, and one-year timeline makes sense
U.S. sanctions two entities over fundraising for extremist West Bank settlers who attacked Palestinians
Ryan Garcia defeats Devin Haney by majority decision: Round-by-round fight analysis
Average rate on 30
Israel strikes Iran with a missile, U.S. officials say, as Tehran downplays Netanyahu's apparent retaliation
Valerie Bertinelli and her new boyfriend go Instagram official with Taylor Swift caption
Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi’s decade in power