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Jimmy Williams
Texas has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration in a bid to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women seeking abortions across state lines from criminal investigations. The lawsuit, initiated by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, targets a regulation finalized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in April, which aims to protect the privacy of women seeking abortions in states where the procedure remains legal.
The rule restricts state and local officials from obtaining reproductive health records for civil, criminal, or administrative investigations. It was designed to safeguard the privacy of women living in states where abortion is illegal but who travel to other states for the procedure. According to Paxton, the federal government is attempting to “undermine” Texas’ law enforcement capabilities by restricting access to critical medical information.
“This rule is a backdoor attempt by the Biden administration to weaken Texas’s laws and undermine state law enforcement investigations that implicate medical procedures,” Paxton said in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Lubbock, is believed to be the first legal challenge by a state with an abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the nationwide right to abortion. Texas, like many other Republican-controlled states, enacted a stringent abortion ban following the ruling, exempting women from criminal charges but imposing strict penalties, including life imprisonment, on those who assist them in obtaining abortions.
The federal rule in question modifies the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, which typically allows law enforcement to access medical records for investigations. The April update, however, enhances privacy protections for reproductive health information, effectively preventing the release of abortion-related records to state authorities for investigations in states where abortion is illegal.
In response to the lawsuit, HHS declined to comment directly but stood by the rule. “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 ones simply because she got the lawful reproductive care she needed,” the agency said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes amid growing tensions between states with strict abortion bans and those seeking to protect abortion access. At least 22 Democratic-led states have enacted laws or issued executive orders to shield medical providers and patients from investigations originating in states with abortion bans. These laws aim to prevent local authorities from enforcing abortion-related investigations against out-of-state residents or providers.
Legal experts point out that HIPAA has long provided enhanced protections for sensitive health information. Liz McCaman Taylor, senior federal policy counselor at the Center for Reproductive Rights, criticized Texas’ lawsuit, saying, “Federal law has consistently protected sensitive health information, but Texas is suing now not out of concern for state sovereignty, but out of its hostility toward reproductive health.”
Texas’ lawsuit could have significant implications for the broader national battle over abortion access. The outcome of this case could determine whether states with abortion bans can use medical records to pursue investigations against women who cross state lines to seek the procedure.
