Biden Administration updates HIPAA rules to protect women who travel out of state for abortion
In a move designed to thwart the efforts of anti-choice extremists in states who have banned abortion from accessing medical records of patients who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare, the Biden Administration has updated HIPAA rules to prevent patients records from being provided to out of state law enforcement agencies. In addition, the updated HIPAA rules will allow patients to specifically require their healthcare provider to not disclose their reproductive healthcare information to any third party, including another healthcare provider.
In the months since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, Republican attorney generals in 19 forced birth states are demanding the right for local law enforcement and prosecutors to obtain the health records of women who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare. This is further evidence that Republicans have no intention of simply allowing states to decide whether or not they want abortion to be legal within their borders–they wish to force their beliefs on the entire country–in fact, in the budget House Republicans proposed in March, they endorsed a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions., not even for cases of rape or incest, or even the life of the mother.
According to a press release from the White House, the rules will–
prohibit doctors, other health care providers, and health plans from disclosing individuals’ protected health information, including information related to reproductive health care, under certain circumstances. Specifically, the rule would prevent an individual’s information from being disclosed to investigate, sue, or prosecute an individual, a health care provider, or a loved one simply because that person sought, obtained, provided, or facilitated legal reproductive health care, including abortion.
I, for one, will never vote for another Republican for anything, ever–not even as dogcatcher. On this and many other issues, they have shown that they do not value freedom or democracy–they want to turn the United States into a theocratic fascist dictatorship. They are so crazy they want to force 10-year-olds to have babies by pedophiles and are perfectly happy to let women suffering from life threatening pregnancy complications die in the name of their religious beliefs–with absolutely no respect for the religious beliefs of others. The entire party needs to be purged of the entire crop of lunatics who currently hold office, from top to bottom. Only then will they perhaps return to sanity.
