Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finalized a regulation to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to directly address unique threats to private data surrounding reproductive health care. Dr. Jamila Perritt, ob/gyn in DC and President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health responds:
“The Department of Health and Human Services’ privacy rule is an important step to ensure that sensitive health information is protected from unwarranted disclosure. It is also an essential step to safeguard patients’ access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion care.
“As physicians, we know how critical it is for patients’ private health information to be protected, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs and the ever-increasing threats of criminalization as states continue to ban or severely restrict abortion.
The fear of criminalization is not theoretical, and neither is the harm.
“However, this threat is not new. We know that even prior to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe we saw patients’ protected health information used against them. For decades, pregnant people have been arrested, subjected to prosecution, detained, sent to jail, separated from their children, and even had medical interventions forced upon them because of their pregnancy outcomes.
“The fear of criminalization is not theoretical, and neither is the harm. The impact on those targeted or punished for seeking stigmatized health care is substantial. Even if charges are never filed, an investigation by law enforcement or a government agency is traumatic and can have far reaching consequences. The use of protected health information to punish people seeking essential care has a profound and detrimental impact on the patient-provider relationship, threatening the trust that is foundational to care.
“PRH, and our network of physician advocates across the country, believe firmly that criminalization has no place in health care. We will continue to work alongside the Administration and with policymakers at all levels to ensure that no one is criminalized for seeking health care.”
