Washington.- The White House proposed this Wednesday a new federal norm to limit the way in which local authorities collect medical records when they investigate women who go to other states to obtain an abortion.
The proposal, spurred by a series of blows to abortion access across the United States, follows a federal judge’s ruling last Friday that threatened to withdraw the most widely used abortion pill, mifepristone, from the market.
The White House proposed rule would prohibit health organizations from sharing personal medical records with authorities for investigations related to reproductive care in states where a woman has been able to legally obtain an abortion. Although medical records are protected by federal privacy laws, health care providers and insurers may be required to turn over medical records with a court order.
Doctors across the country have raised concerns about the protection of such medical information from law enforcement, said Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the US Department of Health’s office for civil rights, which proposed the rule change.
“We have had many conversations with providers, major medical associations, and patient advocates about what they are seeing on the ground and how the federal government can help ensure medical records are kept private,” he wrote in a statement.
Since the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last year, some women living in a stretch of southern and north-central states — which have largely banned the practice — now must travel hours to reach other states where they can legally have an abortion.
Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to discuss the proposed rule during a meeting Wednesday with President Joe Biden’s cabinet, which will include Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, according to two senior House officials. Blanca who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal some details of the meeting. Citizens will be able to comment on the proposal during the next 60 days.
