Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a lawsuit that could reshape the landscape of reproductive health privacy and law enforcement’s investigative boundaries.
At a Glance
- Ken Paxton sues the Biden Administration to challenge a new rule limiting reproductive health data sharing.
- The lawsuit claims the rule hampers state law enforcement’s ability to investigate illegal abortions.
- The rule originates from the federal response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
- Texas argues the rule contradicts the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Ken Paxton Takes on Biden Administration Over Data Sharing
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) challenging a Biden administration rule designed to restrict the dissemination of reproductive health data, including information on abortions. Filed in Federal District Court in Lubbock, the lawsuit seeks to vacate this rule before its planned implementation in December.
The rule in question, part of the federal response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, aims to protect women’s privacy rights. Particularly, it restricts healthcare providers from sharing reproductive health information with state law enforcement officials unless specific conditions are met.
Impact on State Law Enforcement
Paxton’s lawsuit argues that the new regulation interferes with Texas’s stringent abortion laws, which ban the procedure in nearly all circumstances and impose severe penalties. Paxton claims the rule contradicts the intent of the original HIPAA statute by restricting state law enforcement’s ability to access reproductive health data necessary for criminal investigations.
“This new rule actively undermines Congress’s clear statutory meaning when HIPAA was passed, and it reflects the Biden Administration’s disrespect for the law,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The federal government is attempting to undermine Texas’s law enforcement capabilities, and I will not allow this to happen.”
The lawsuit contends that Congress never intended for HHS to impede state investigations by allowing healthcare institutions to refuse cooperation based on HIPAA regulations. Additionally, it argues that by restricting the sharing of reproductive health data, the rule obstructs state officials and law enforcement from obtaining critical evidence.
Texas AG has sued the Biden administration to try to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women who cross state lines to seek abortion where it is legal. https://t.co/MLyBdMIBab
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) September 7, 2024
Challenge to Federal Authority
Texas is not only challenging the 2024 rule but also a related 2000 HIPAA privacy rule. Paxton’s complaint asserts that these regulations exceed statutory authority, clash with the original intent of HIPAA, and unduly grant healthcare organizations the discretion to decide the legality of reproductive health services.
“HHS has promulgated the 2024 Privacy Rule in order to obstruct States’ ability to enforce their own laws on abortion and other laws that HHS deems to fall under the rubric of ‘reproductive health care,” the complaint alleges.
The rule, known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy, reportedly makes it difficult for state investigators to access medical records. Critically, Texas argues that this curtailment of information-sharing capabilities is a backdoor attempt at weakening state laws regarding reproductive health procedures, thereby overstepping federal authority.
