Brief Argues that Upending HIPAA Privacy Rights Would Contradict Decades of  Established Precedent 

Washington, D.C. – Democracy Forward has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Doctors for America and the Cities of Columbus, OH, and Madison, WI in the Northern Texas District Court (Amarillo Division), along with co-counsel Public Rights Project and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, defending the 2024 HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of Americans’ reproductive health care information. The brief was filed in response to the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF)’s attempts to upend HIPAA privacy protections and strike down the 2024 HIPAA Privacy Rule in Purl, M.D. et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al. 

HIPAA is a decades-old law that provides the foundation for medical privacy and is critical for doctor-patient trust. In 2024, the Biden administration approved a new rule to strengthen HIPAA’s privacy protections to cover reproductive healthcare and specifically protect pregnant women who travel out-of-state to seek abortions, and doctors who provide that care, from being investigated and prosecuted by state governments for their legal conduct. Texas, Missouri, and Tennessee have also filed cases to attack the 2024 rule and HIPAA privacy rights overall. The filing argues that if the 2024 rule is blocked, it could open a floodgate of harms to patients and providers nationwide. 

“As physicians, our members rely on strong HIPAA protections to ensure our patients can speak openly and seek care without fear—weakening these safeguards threatens the trust at the core of every doctor-patient relationship,” said Christine Petrin, MD, MPH, President of Doctors for America.

“Local governments play a vital role in delivering essential health services, and protecting patient privacy is critical to maintaining the public’s trust,” said Jon Miller, Chief Program Officer at Public Rights Project. “Rolling back important safeguards on how patient information is used undermines that trust and negatively impacts how public health departments can respond and care for their residents.”

“HIPAA privacy rights are foundational to the trust between doctors and patients, and to the integrity of our health care system. These protections are critical regardless of the types of care a patient receives, and particularly important to patients seeking lawful reproductive health care,” said Carrie Flaxman, Senior Legal Advisor at Democracy Forward. “Blocking the rule could pave the way for dangerous government investigations into private medical records, undermining decades of established precedent and people who have obtained legal health care, and doctors who provide it, at risk. Democracy Forward is committed  to representing clients in defending and expanding access to reproductive healthcare and ensuring that Americans can seek care without fear of political interference.”

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.