Texas Challenges Federal Privacy Protections For Reproductive Health Care
Health Affairs October 15, 2024
Post-Dobbs, many states enacted laws that criminalize and otherwise restrict access to abortion. Some of these laws, like the abortion ban in Texas, allow any person to bring a civil action to initiate an investigation and enforce the law. In response, over a dozen states have passed shield laws to enshrine protections against subpoenas for patients who travel to access legal abortions, their medical providers, and others who help them access care.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule strengthening privacy protections for medical records and other health information related to reproductive health care under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). In a press release, HHS noted that it heard...