Biden administration moves to block abortion investigations

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a rule that would prohibit doctors, hospitals and health insurance plans from disclosing to criminal investigators whether a woman has had a legal abortion, a move intended to thwart attempts by Republican state legislatures to restrict abortions

vice president kamala harris and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will present the proposed rule at a meeting of an administration task force dedicated to protecting abortion rights on Wednesday afternoon.

The proposal, which comes from the HHS office for civil rights, would strengthen existing protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. The rule would block attempts to obtain information about legal reproductive health care, including abortions, in order to investigate, sue or prosecute a person.

The idea comes when Republican state legislators devise measures to prevent residents from traveling out of state to search for abortions. Idaho Governor Brad Little (right) signed a law earlier this month making it a felony to help a minor receive an out-of-state abortion without parental permission.

The HHS rule, in theory, would make investigations into such abortions much more difficult.

“The protection of individual health information has taken on critical importance following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” an administration official told reporters on a conference call Tuesday before the announcement. The HHS Office for Civil Rights “has listened to patients and providers, major medical organizations, and others representing patients across the country. They’re scared. They are concerned that their medical information will be misused and disclosed.”

The announcement also continues Harris’ role as the administration’s primary abortion rights messenger. (President Joe Biden will travel to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland this week.)

The proposal comes just days after a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, a widely used abortion drug, makes decades, it was illegal. The Justice Department immediately appealed the decision, which has been widely criticized by Democrats and amid silence from the Republican Party.

A separate and conflicting ruling by a federal judge in Washington state requiring the FDA to keep the drug on the market in more than a dozen states could expedite the matter to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.

Some Democrats have pressured the Biden administration to ignore the judge’s ruling, but both the White House and HHS have said ignoring a court order would set a dangerous precedent. Harris and Becerra are likely to address the order at Wednesday’s meeting.

“If Friday’s preliminary injunction is upheld, it will put women’s health at risk and undermine the FDA’s ability to keep safe and effective drugs available to those who need them,” an administration official said. “He represents an existential threat to the FDA.”

The Department of Education is also sending guidance to more than 20,000 school officials reminding them to protect student privacy, including health records. The Federal Communications Commission is also releasing guidance on how consumers can protect health information stored on their mobile phones.