Texas district judge overturns Biden rule on expanded abortion privacy protections

A Texas federal judge late Wednesday overturned a Biden administration rule designed to keep prosecutors from getting the medical records of patients seeking legal abortions or gender-affirming care by boosting privacy protections for women’s reproductive health information. 

District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo ruled the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acted unlawfully when it expanded the scope of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy law last April.