Suit was filed last week in an Indiana state trial court by an anti-abortion organization objecting to the state Health Department's new policy of releasing only aggregate data from Termination of Pregnancy Reports filed by abortion providers. The organization seeks continued release of individual reports (which do not contain information identifying patients) in order to identify violations of health or safety standards by providers. The complaint (full text) in Voices for Life v. Indiana Department of Health, (IN Super. Ct., filed 5/1/2024), alleges in part:
On April 11, 2024, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita issued an Official Opinion 2024-2. Exhibit 14. In it he rejected the Public Access Counselor’s informal opinion (23-INF-15) asserting that TPRs are patient medical records exempt from disclosure under I.C. § 5-14-3-4(a)(9), and set forth reasons why TPRs are not exempt from disclosure under the APRA on the theory they are patient records....
IDOH’s refusal to provide access to TPRs deprives private citizens of their role in petitioning the Attorney General to investigate cases that suggest a termination of pregnancy was unlawful. Complaints by members of the public are a condition precedent to the Attorney General’s exercise of his lawful authority....
Because it frustrates needed investigation into potentially unlawful abortions, IDOH’s refusal to disclose TPRs to Plaintiffs places human lives at risk. It also frustrates Voices For Life’s mission to protect the lives of mothers and the unborn. These results of the Public Access Counselor’s Informal Opinion are the opposite of what the statute intends in mandating creation and filing of TPRs. The Court must not allow this situation to continue.
Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
