In case you’re wondering: In a post Roe v. Wade world, where bodily autonomy is under attack left, right, and center, no, healthcare workers are not required to report abortions to police, but these 19 attorneys general are working to change that.
After the Biden administration proposed to change medical privacy laws in an attempt to ban states’ law enforcement from obtaining private medical records, conservative politicians were quick to push back in their quest to find out if people who live in their states are having abortions in other states. A group of 19 Republican AGs are demanding that the administration withdraw that proposal, claiming that it “unlawfully interfere(s) with States’ authority to enforce their laws, and does not serve any legitimate need.”
Under current HIPAA laws, the practice of health care providers reporting suspected crimes to the authorities is legal, no matter how unethical it may be. The Biden administration is working to change that, and all 24 Democratic AGs are in support of the decision. In fact, a group of nearly 50 Democrats in Congress, led by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), believe that the proposed changes to HIPAA laws wouldn’t even go far enough to protect the rights of patients. Above all, the legislators believe that the police should be required to obtain a warrant before medical records are given away.
In a statement to Politico, Wyden expressed concerns that about law enforcement agencies’ ability to gather information from retail pharmacies that stock abortion medications. “I’ve been investigating pharmacy chains for the last two months on their privacy practices, and I can tell you that health care providers are turning over Americans’ sensitive health records without a warrant every single week,” he said, “and for the most part, the patients are never going to be told that the information was turned over. That’s why this rule is so unacceptable. We’re talking about uterus surveillance.”
The Republican AGs’ primary concern is to track down and punish people who obtain out-of-state abortions but reside in states where abortion is illegal. Similarly, the group of attorneys general want doctors and nurses to be able to disclose any records of gender-affirming care in states where such care is against the law. In short, Republicans state governments are so concerned with the bodies of their citizens that they are attempting to use their legislative power to track down people who commit “crimes” in places where said “crimes” are not crimes.
Roger Severino, a former Trump administration official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, made conservative efforts to police civilian’s bodies across state lines abundantly clear. “If someone says, ‘I’m going to kill myself’ or ‘I’m going to kill somebody else,’ medical providers are allowed and in some cases required to disclose that information to law enforcement,” he said in a statement to Politico. “But if there’s an imminent threat to an unborn person in a pro-life state, this rule would prohibit the provider from disclosing that information to save that life. They’re creating an abortion exception to the HIPAA regime.” According to Severino, the AGs are likely to sue.
To make matters worse, the AGs are citing Dobbs v. Jackson Health Organization (the Supreme Court case responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade) in order to further support their arguments. In a letter written by Lynn Finch—the leader of the 19 AGs—she argues that abortion is a matter to be governed entirely by the states. If you reside in a state where abortions are illegal, she argues, you’re out of luck.
The letter further claims that the Biden administration is pushing “a false narrative that States are seeking to treat pregnant women as criminals or punish medical personnel who provide lifesaving care.” Finch goes on to say that “the Administration has sought to wrest control over abortion back from the people in defiance of the Constitution and Dobbs.” Someone needs to tell Finc that the only person who’s trying to assert control over people’s right to abortions is her.
As for treating pregnant people as criminals, state governments are already doing that. A Nebraska teenager is awaiting a legal sentence this week after pleading guilty to a self-managed abortion using pills, even though the state doesn’t explicitly ban the practice. Prosecutors instead resorted to bogus arguments that the teenager committed other crimes such as “concealing a dead body” or “concealing the death of another person.” Horrific. Republican politicians claim they want to “protect kids” by prosecuting them.
Fitch and the other AGs are attempting to spin the narrative that their concerns are about “protecting women,” as well. “Suppose that state officials had reason to believe that an abortion provider deliberately performed an abortion in violation of state law, resulting in serious injury to the woman, and that the provider then falsified medical records and referred the woman to an out-of-state provider to cover it up,” they wrote in their letter. “State officials would clearly have a basis to investigate that provider.” Do you know what else can cause serious injury to a woman? Having a child in the first place.
But it gets even worse. The Republican attorneys general are complaining that the Biden administration’s proposal would prevent states from investigating people who help others get abortions. “The bar on disclosure would not be limited to investigations or proceedings involving the person who sought ‘reproductive health care.’ Rather, it would apply to investigations or proceedings involving ‘any person’ in connection with such ‘care.’” “Any person connected” being the operative phrase here.
Fitch and the AGs also claim that the Biden administration will be able to use the proposal to limit states’ ability to prosecutor people who pursue gender-affirming care as well, despite the fact that the administration only defined “reproductive healthcare” as “prenatal care, abortion, miscarriage management, infertility treatment, contraception use, and treatment for reproductive-related conditions such as ovarian cancer.” Democratic AGs pressured the administration to include gender-affirming care in the proposal, but it was ultimately left out. Fitch was not assured. “Given its far-reaching and radical approach to transgender issues, the Administration may intend to use the proposed rule to obstruct state laws concerning experimental gender-transition procedures for minors,” he continued in his letter.
Inevitably, a lawsuit against the Biden Administration will be filed, and based on recent Supreme Court’s recent decisions, it’s likely that lawsuit could succeed. Republican politicians want control over your body, and they’ll get it in any way they can.
(featured image: TAGSTOCK1/Getty Images)
