Southern AGs Fight White House Move To Protect Out-Of-State Abortion Data
The Biden administration's plans to protect abortion rights using updated HIPAA rules to shield abortion-seekers from investigation is under fire from Republicans. Regional news outlets cover objections from 19 state attorneys generals and their efforts to gather exactly this type of medical data.
Politico:
Biden’s HIPAA Expansion For Abortion Draws Criticism, Lawsuit Threats
The Biden administration’s effort to wield the nation’s premier health-privacy law to protect abortion rights is under fire from Republicans who accuse the president of overreaching — and from Democrats who call it too weak. The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to release a final rule later this year that would expand the protections of the decadesold Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, with the aim of shielding people who seek, obtain or provide abortions from red state probes — one of the most concrete steps the administration has taken to defend abortion rights since the Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade a year ago. (Miranda Ollstein, 7/18)
Mississippi Today:
AG Lynn Fitch Wants To Make Info On Out-Of-State Abortions Available To Mississippi Authorities
Attorney General Lynn Fitch wants to ensure Mississippi authorities are allowed to investigate and gather information on abortions performed out of state on Mississippi women. Fitch, Mississippi’s first-term Republican attorney general, and 18 other state attorneys general have filed comments in opposition to a proposed change to federal regulations, known as HIPAA, that protects the privacy of people’s health care. (Harrison, 7/13)
AL.com:
Alabama Top Prosecutor Wants Information On Out-Of-State Abortions
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall signed a letter that said states need to have access to medical information for people who travel out of state for abortions or gender-affirming health care. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch wrote the letter last month to oppose proposed federal rules that would shield that information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Marshall was one of 19 attorneys general who signed. (Yurkanin, 7/17)
Tennessee Lookout:
Tennessee AG Asserts Right To Out-Of-State Abortion, Transgender Care Medical Records
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined Republican counterparts in 18 states in an effort to prevent the federal government from shielding the medical records of those who cross state lines to obtain legal abortion or gender-affirming care from investigations in their home state. (Wadhwani, 7/18)
