New Biden rule protects privacy for women who get abortions

23/4/2024 12:09

        U.S. President Joe Biden's administration issued a final rule on Monday aimed at strengthening privacy protections for women seeking abortions that bans the disclosure of protected health information related to reproductive health.
        
        The new rule, issued through the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strengthens existing provisions under the Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule.
        
        It is aimed at protecting women living in states where abortion is illegal who travel out of state to have the procedure legally done, a number that has grown since states started restricting abortion rights.
        
        Some states, like Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho, have sought to stop that by making it a crime to help, or pay for, such travel. Lawsuits over such measures are pending in Alabama and Idaho.