In a move that has sparked some debate over privacy and transparency, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) agreed to release Terminated Pregnancy Reports (TPRs), following a lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit, filed by the Thomas More Society on behalf of the anti-abortion group Voices for Life, accused IDOH of flouting Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act by failing to release the abortion records, as reported by FOX59.
Under the settlement terms, the state health agency will provide the reports, tinged with redactions designed to protect patient identities. According to a lawsuit filed in May 2024, IDOH had initially stopped releasing the detailed reports to avoid breaching confidentiality patient standards. This decision was backed at the time by Indiana's Public Access Counselor Luke Britt, who saw the forms as akin to patient medical records, as detailed by IndyStar.
Governor Mike Braun’s recent executive order, signed on Jan. 21, required the resumption of publishing individual abortion reports, eventually leading to the lawsuit settlement. Criticism has emerged from the Indiana Democratic Party, which has accused Gov. Braun of invading medical privacy for Hoosier women and families. Executive Director of Voices for Life, Melanie Garcia Lyon, views the release of these records as a method to ensure that abortionists comply with state laws and are held accountable, a sentiment echoed in a statement obtained by FOX59.
The settlement specifies what can and cannot be redacted, allowing information such as the patient's age, the age of their fetus, and the provider's details to remain public. Echoing the demands for transparency, Attorney General Todd Rokita had issued an advisory opinion in April 2024, disputing the health department’s initial withholding of records and contending the reports should be considered public. He insisted that, having redacted personal health identifiers, the data points were crucial for invalidating law compliance, as detailed by the lawsuit voiced by WRTV.
Despite the release, health officials were keen to emphasize that the reports do not reveal the identity of the individuals who have undergone abortions. The intent is to examine the data for inconsistencies and adherence to the laws that govern abortion practices in Indiana. Voices for Life, represented by Thomas More Society Executive Vice President Thomas Olp, has been utilizing TPRs for over a decade in its efforts to monitor abortion legality and frequency within the state, ensuring that the procedures adhere to the letter of the law, according to a WRTV interview with Olp.
