The Biden administration is preparing an expansion to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as promised earlier this year, which would seemingly serve to protect abortion and infringe on laws passed in pro-life states.
Politico reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is preparing the final draft of the new rule, called the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy, under the Office of Civil Rights. After the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, individual states were able to make their own laws regarding abortion. While some states do have laws in place that protect preborn children from abortion, abortionists — not women seeking abortions — are the ones facing potential prosecution.
It is believed that the new rule will protect both women and abortionists from those pro-life laws, claiming that access to abortion is a civil right. However, others are already preparing to push back, while still more warn that the rule change will open up the Biden administration to lawsuits.
“I would imagine, at the very least, that a challenge would come from state attorneys general, because the administration is interfering with their ability to enforce their own laws,” Roger Severino, who served as head of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights under President Donald Trump, told Politico.
At least 18 attorneys general have already begun demanding that the Biden administration refrain from implementing the new rule. “The administration has sought to wrest control over abortion back from the people in defiance of the Constitution and Dobbs,” a letter they signed together said. “The proposed rule… would unlawfully interfere with States’ authority to enforce their laws, and does not serve any legitimate need.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr further released a statement, saying that the rule would not only infringe upon their ability to enforce their own laws, but hamper their ability to investigate and prosecute other crimes.
“In a shameless attempt to play politics, the Biden administration wants to change the rules in a way that would hinder law enforcement’s ability to gather information about crimes against women,” the statement read. “There is no mechanism under state law to prosecute women for having an abortion. Georgia is not trying to – and does not – punish pregnant women. We are trying to stop dangerous traffickers, rapists, predators and abusers, but this rule change will make it harder to hold such criminals accountable.”
Even pro-abortion politicians are calling the rule a mistake.
“I get why the administration wants to take this position,” Sen. Ron Wyden told Politico. “But it’s really a mistake, substantively and politically, to just throw in the towel and let the government make a policy that doesn’t come close to dealing with the risk women are facing.”
