Biden Reproductive Privacy Rule Halted by Federal Judge (1)

A Biden administration rule prohibiting health care providers from sharing reproductive healthcare information with law enforcement was invalidated by a federal judge Wednesday.

Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled that the US Department of Health and Human Services’ rule was contrary to law since it illegally limits state public health laws, impermissibly re-defines “person” and “public health,” and oversteps the authority delegated by US Congress, he said in an opinion.

Until US citizens speak “through their representatives, agencies must fall silent on issues of abortion or other matters of great political significance,” Kacsmaryk said.

Kacsmaryk is a go-to judge in blocking Biden-era rules. Recently, he vacated parts of EEOC anti-harassment guidance that include LGBTQ+ workplace protections as well as a Biden-era nursing home staffing rule. In a ruling that was eventually overturned by the US Supreme Court, Kacsmaryk barred the use of mifepristone, the drug used in abortions.

HHS in 2024 applied the privacy protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, to abortion and other reproductive services records. Texas-based Dr. Carmen Purl and her medical practice sued to declare the rule “arbitrary and capricious” and “in excess of statutory authority,” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Alliance Defending Freedom represents Purl.

The case is Purl v. Dep’t of Health and Human Services, N.D. Tex., No. 2:24-cv-00228, 6/18/25.