President Joe Biden‘s administration moved to protect women who cross state lines to have an abortion on Wednesday as the White House pushes to ensure access to reproductive rights amid a slew of new restrictions.
The Department of Health and Humans Services is enacting a rule prohibiting healthcare providers and insurers from sharing private health information if that information will be used to investigate someone accessing or providing an abortion.
The proposed rule will protect women who live in states where abortion is illegal but travel to a state where it is legal to have the procedure.
It’s unclear if the proposed rule will actually stifle criminal investigations.
President Joe Biden’s administration has moved to protect women who cross state lines to have an abortion
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling in 2022, more women are traveling to obtain an abortion as states outlaw the procedure.
Nearly 1 in 10 abortions in 2020 were provided to patients who’d crossed state lines, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute. That’s up from 6% in 2011.
Clinics in states like Colorado and Illinois, which have less restrictive laws, report an influx of patients from states with more restrictive laws.
As of January 2023, 24 states have enacted restrictive bans or are in the process of doing so.
Twelve states are enforcing a near-total ban on abortion with very limited exceptions, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In four states, laws prohibiting abortion after a specific point in pregnancy, which would have been unconstitutional under Roe, are in effect.
Many other states are pushing anti-abortion laws through their state legislatures.
Many of these state bans are being challenged in court, which is expensive and time-consuming.
In addition to these laws, a ruling in a Texas court threatens abortion access on a national level.
Many states have passed laws that restrict abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case – above abortion rights activists in front of the Supreme Court
More than a dozen states have restricted access to abortions following the overturning of Roe V Wade
The White House is working to counter the slew of restrictions in a way that works faster than the legal system.
The proposed rule for HHS, which is set to be finalized following a 60-day public comment period, strengthens existing privacy protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which applies in all states.
The rule specifically prohibits the ‘use or disclosure’ of private health information by a ‘regulated entity’ for these purposes, according to the White House, including:
- ‘A criminal, civil, or administrative investigation into or proceeding against any person in connection with seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care, where such health care is lawful under the circumstances in which it is provided.
- ‘The identification of any person for the purpose of initiating such investigations or proceedings.’
Vice President Kamala Harris will meet Wednesday with Biden’s Cabinet to discuss the administration’s tactics in the wake of Texas ruling that restricts access to the abortion pill mifepristone. It is set to go into effect on Friday.
The Justice Department has appealed to the conservative-leaning 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to put a stay on the order pending a full appeal and asked for a decision by noon on Thursday.
The ruling from Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by Donald Trump, threatens to upend abortion access for the entire country.
Many abortion clinics heavily use medication-only abortions. Also many of them have relocated to Democratic-leaning states, in order to preserve access to abortion for millions of women around the country.
Kacsmaryk’s ruling validated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the most commonly used abortion drug in the U.S.
Many abortion clinics have moved to Democratic-leaning states to preserve abortion rights
A Texas judge restricted access to the abortion pill mifepristone; Justice Department is appealing
The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of mifepristone in 2000, but the plaintiffs in Texas argued the FDA didn’t adequately review mifepristone’s safety. It is one of two drugs used for medication abortion in the United States, along with misoprostol, which is also used to treat other medical conditions.
Medical groups point out mifepristone has been used by millions of women over the past 23 years with a low complication rate.
Meanwhile, a judge in Washington state has ordered the FDA to leave mifepristone in place for 17 states and D.C. that brought a case separate from the one that Kacsmaryk heard.
The clashing rulings means the issue is likely to end up before the Supreme Court.
