On October 21, 2024, a Texas doctor, represented by the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), and OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. The suit challenges the recent HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy, which was designed to strengthen privacy protections for reproductive health and gender transition care records.
Published on April 26, 2024, the rule took effect on June 25, 2024 and is set to require full compliance by December 23, 2024. The rule restricts healthcare providers and insurers from sharing information about legal reproductive healthcare where the purpose of the request is to investigate or impose liability related to reproductive services. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argues that the rule overreaches federal authority by limiting doctors’ ability to report suspected abuse in compliance with Texas law, including situations where patients may be pressured into abortions or where minors are scheduled for gender-affirming care against state law.