Texas sues Biden administration to block abortion privacy rule

The state of Texas sued the Biden administration in a bid to block a rule designed to protect the privacy of women living in states that ban abortion who travel over state lines for the procedure.

In a suit filed Wednesday in federal court in Texas, the state asked a judge to strike down a rule issued in June that strengthened the Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule regarding reproductive health.

The rule prohibits the disclosure of protected health information related to reproductive health care in certain circumstances.

In the suit, filed against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Texas argued that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued the rule would unlawfully restrict state law enforcement 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,” Paxton said. “The federal government is attempting to undermine Texas’s law enforcement capabilities, and I will not allow this to happen.”

The rule, announced earlier this year, came in the wake of concerns that patients who travel to clinics for legal abortion or reproductive care will eventually have their records sought following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the DHHS said.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, at the time of the announcement, said, “Each and every American still has a right to their privacy,” especially in the cases of “very private, very personal health information.”

Providers and insurers must fully comply with the new rule by Dec. 23.

A spokesperson for HHS told The Hill the agency does not comment on pending litigation matters, but noted the rule “stands on its own.”

“The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to protecting reproductive health privacy and ensuring that no woman’s medical records are used against her, her doctor, or her loved one simply because she got the lawful reproductive care she needed,” the HHS spokesperson said.

The Texas suit also asks the judge to block another rule issued in 2000 under HIPPA, which stated providers and insurers are only required to disclose information for legitimate law enforcement inquiries.

The state claimed entities frequently site the 2000 rule as reason to not comply with “valid investigative subpoenas.”

—Updated Sept. 6 at 11:07 a.m.