A lawsuit filed this week by the anti-abortion group Voice for Life seeks to restore access to Indiana abortion records that are no longer made public by the state health department.
of South Bend-based group The Indiana State Department of Health (IDOH) for ceasing to publish individual abortion pregnancy reports (TPR), even though the agency compiles public data quarterly across the state. I'm appealing. The procedural changes went into effect in December.
Previously, the reports had been redacted but routinely released under Indiana's public records access law.
The lawsuit was filed in Marion County Superior Court just weeks after Indiana Attorney General Todd. Rokita accuses IDOH and Indiana Public Access Counselors of 'collusion' It issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that reports of aborted pregnancies are public records.
Need to contact us?
Have a news tip?
After several records requests were denied last fall, Voices for Life again called for an end to the pregnancy report last month, arguing that Rokita's opinion should force IDOH to release the records. However, the latest request was also rejected by state authorities, leading to legal charges.
“Accessing these reports has always been about assessing a provider's compliance with Indiana's abortion laws,” said Melanie Garcia, executive director of Voice for Life. Lyon said at a press conference on Wednesday. “If this were truly a privacy concern, the health department could easily redact the information in these reports. But this is not about protecting women's privacy. This is not about unsafe abortions. It protects providers from public scrutiny and allows them to continue operating without facing legal action.”
In the past, anti-abortion groups have used the report to file licensing complaints against certain doctors, citing procedural issues such as delays in filing TPRs.
IDOH's new policy comes under fire
After Indiana's new near-total abortion ban went into effect, the state health department changed its policy, meaning fewer abortions performed by health care providers. State health officials asked the Indiana Public Access Counsel for a ruling, concerned that the information in the report could indirectly identify women who underwent surgery.
Some of the data collected on the Terminated Pregnancy Report (TPR) includes the woman's age, education, marital status, date of abortion, gestational age of the fetus, the woman's race and ethnicity, and the woman's personal history. Includes species and ethnicity. The city and county where the abortion took place.
Story continues below.
Complaints under APRA-5-1
Public access counselor Luke Britt said the report “could be reverse engineered to identify patients, especially in smaller communities.”
He agreed with IDOH that the required quarterly reports are sufficient in meeting disclosure and transparency considerations. Britt further stated that records created by physicians fall under the provider-patient relationship as medical records.
However, Britt's ruling is not binding.
Benjamin Horvath, an attorney for Voices for Life, said TPR's injunction reflects transparency concerns. He argued that these records are essential to ensure that the state's abortion laws are followed.
“We're not asking for patient information,” Horvath said. “It's about the doctors who actually perform the abortions, but where are they performing the abortions? And by having access to that, Voices for Life can accomplish its mission.”
Litigation relies on Rokita's advisory opinion
Lyon said Voices for Life has been requesting and considering TPR since 2022. She noted that the “enforcement team” has filed complaints about 701 cases of clear misconduct gleaned from these reports.
For decades, other anti-abortion groups have similarly requested and received TPR from IDOH. The requesting organization examined records “for apparent violations of health and safety standards among abortion providers,” according to the complaint.
The complaint states that until October 2023, IDOH “regularly” provided TPR to Voices For Life upon request and redacted potential patient identifying information. However, an October 16 records request by Voices For Life seeking TPR records from August 2023 was ultimately denied by IDOH in January.
Attorney General Todd Rokita issues advisory opinion on aborted pregnancy reporting
According to the complaint, Voices for Life also requested TPRs in September, October, and November. These requests were effectively denied in January.
According to email evidence attached to the complaint, the state Department of Health indicated that the records were classified as confidential medical records and “no longer available for release through a public records request.”
The lawsuit highlights a different conclusion in Rokita's 11-page opinion that the reports are not protected medical records. And lawmakers said they didn't change the law to protect themselves.
The legal challenge further states that IDOH's “refusal to comply” with Voice for Life's public records request “pleases the Attorney General to investigate cases suggesting that abortion is illegal. “It will take away the role of civilians.”
The paper argues that aggregate data from October to December 2023 (still available in quarterly reports published by IDOH) “suggests that some abortions performed during this period may have been illegal. “We have good reason to believe,” but points to Rokita's opinion that individual TPR data is lacking. Preventing the Attorney General's Office from investigating them.
“IDOH’s refusal to disclose TPR to plaintiffs puts lives at risk because it prevents necessary investigations into possible illegal abortions. It also undermines Voice for Life’s commitment to protect the lives of mothers and unborn children. It also impedes our mission,” the lawsuit says. “These results of the Public Access Counselor's informal opinion are contrary to the intent of the law requiring the preparation and filing of TPRs. Courts should not allow this situation to continue.”
Get the morning headlines delivered to your inbox
