AXIOS August 10, 2022
Doctors are weighing the legal risks of turning over ultrasounds and other personal health records if prosecutors or law enforcement demand the information to enforce state abortion bans.
Why it matters: The new post-Roe landscape is testing the suitability of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
- The landmark federal privacy law restricts how health providers share medical information, but it doesn’t prevent them from sharing it with law enforcement.
Catch up quick: In Texas, anti-abortion lawyers have started filing pre-lawsuit petitions to depose abortion providers in order to gain information about abortions, the Texas Tribune reported.
- Providers in such circumstances may need the advice of attorneys before handling requests for reproductive health information.
- “We...