Following a court settlement, the Indiana Department of Health will make terminated pregnancy information available

Indianapolis, Indiana – A case involving the Hoosier State’s abortion records being made public has been resolved by the Indiana Department of Health.

A settlement has been reached after the Thomas More Society, a law firm that brought the case on behalf of the anti-abortion organization Voices for Life, accused IDOH and State Health Commissioner Lindsay Weaver of violating Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act and failing to make abortion records publicly available, according to a news release.

The lawsuit was first launched in May 2024 by the Chicago-based law firm.

As a result of the settlement, IDOH is now required to make public the records of specific abortions carried out throughout Indiana, with patient identities protected by redactions.

As part of a larger initiative to ensure that medical personnel “comply with Indiana laws protecting the unborn,” the pro-life group has pushed for the public release of Termination of Pregnancy Reports (TPRs) since 2022.

“These reports’ public release represents a win for Indiana’s vulnerable women and children. The executive director of Voices for Life, Melanie Garcia Lyon, stated that having access to these reports will assist in guaranteeing that abortionists are held responsible for breaking health and safety laws. “We are grateful to the Attorney General’s Office for their ongoing assistance in upholding Indiana’s pro-life laws, the Braun Administration for requiring transparency within the IDOH, and the Thomas More Society for their courageous defense of the unborn in this litigation.”

Attorney General Todd Rokita had also expressed his thoughts on the contentious issue, arguing in an advisory opinion that the reports need to be made public. According to Rokita, the reports are not considered medical records, and without their availability, “there is no effective way” for him or other officials to make sure medical personnel are abiding with Indiana law.

According to the Associated Press, IDOH replied to Rokita by stating that TPRs shouldn’t be considered public records, citing an unofficial opinion from an open records authority.

Up until 2023, when it claimed that it could no longer share this information to prevent violating patient confidentiality rules, health officials had initially obliged with Voice of Life’s demands for access to TPRs.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the state implemented an almost complete abortion prohibition, which resulted in a sharp drop in the overall number of abortions. Following the contentious decision that eliminated federal abortion safeguards, Indiana was among the first states to enact stronger abortion restrictions.

In an effort to preserve patient privacy, health formally decided to stop publishing individual records because abortions were being carried out under more stringent conditions. Rather, four times a year, the department published its usual summary data.

There were just a few exceptions to Indiana’s abortion statute for people who wanted to get one over state lines: in situations of rape or incest if the mother’s life was in danger, or for fetal abnormalities.

The lawsuit referenced Indiana law, which mandates that doctors provide IDOH with TPRs in addition to patient demographics and medical information. According to the Associated Press, the reports may include the county and zip code of specific patients, but they do not identify any of the patients by name.

The type of procedure, the stated cause for the abortion, the name of the doctor, and the date of the procedure are also included in the reports.

The settlement stipulates that IDOH must henceforth provide TPRs upon request while making sure the reports cannot be used to identify specific patients.

This new step comes after Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed Executive Order 25-20 on January 21 mandating the public sharing of individual abortion reports.

Gov. Braun has “further restricted the medical privacy of Hoosier women and families by ordering the release of individual terminated pregnancy reports,” according to the Indiana Democratic Party, which protested the executive order.