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U.S. Senators Push Privacy For Those Seeking Reproductive Care

As some states investigate and punish women who seek abortion care, senators including Oregon’s Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley seek protections.
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SHUTTERSTOCK
September 15, 2022

This article was originally published by Oregon Capital Chronicle. 

Nearly 30 U.S. senators, including Oregon’s Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, asked the federal government Tuesday to ensure that the identities of women seeking reproductive health care remain private.

Their letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Human Services, Xavier Becerra, said that the U.S. faces a reproductive health care crisis with states banning or limiting care and passing legislation to punish patients and providers.

“Our nation faces a crisis in access to reproductive health services, and some states have already begun to investigate and punish women seeking abortion care,” the letter said. It is critical that (Health and Human Services) take all available action to fully protect women’s privacy and their ability to safely and confidentially seek medical care.”

It said the department should take action to update current privacy laws to ensure they expressly name privacy protections in connection with reproductive rights care.

“To safeguard the privacy of women’s personal health care decisions and ensure patients feel safe seeking medical care, including reproductive health care, we urge you to quickly initiate the rulemaking process to strengthen privacy protections for reproductive health information,” the letter said. 

The senators want the federal law  that protects the privacy of medical records to make it clear that records are not to be shared with law enforcement or with officials involved in civil or criminal proceedings related to abortions.

The letter was signed by 29 senators, including Wyden, Merkleyand Washington’s Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, all Democrats. The only senator not a Democrat who signed the letter was Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats.

The letter said that legislators and prosecutors across the country are trying to enforce abortion bans by investigating patients and physicians. Both Texas and Idaho passed near-total abortion bans that criminalized the procedure, opening providers and patients up for prosecution. Last month, a federal judge paused a portion of Idaho’s law, saying it can’t criminalize the procedure in emergency situations.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the Biden administration has pledged to do what it can to protect abortion rights. Also in June, Becerra said he would work to better protect patient and provider privacy. 

The letter said the patchwork of state abortion bans has caused confusion among providers about whether they have to turn over medical records to state or local officials. 

“This confusion fundamentally threatens women’s health, as patients may delay or avoid seeking the care they need out of fear their sensitive health information could be weaponized against them. In recent weeks, states have investigated and sought to punish patients and providers for seeking and providing abortion care,” the letter said.

Abortion remains legal without any restrictions in Oregon. Since passage of abortion bans, Oregon and other states that protect abortion rights have faced a surge in demand from  out-of-state patients seeking abortion care. At the state level, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and legislators started work this summer to ensure Oregon medical providers aren’t prosecuted for performing abortions for women from other states. 

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Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.

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