A judge’s order blocking the Indiana Department of Health from releasing the reports that doctors file about individual abortions will remain in place under a state Court of Appeals decision.
A panel of three appeals court judges agreed unanimously with a Marion County judge that the records — known as terminated pregnancy reports — should be protected as confidential medical records.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard and Dr. Caroline Rouse, both Indianapolis OB-GYNs, sued in February to block release of the documents after the state healthy agency entered into a settlement agreement with South Bend-based Voices for Life. That agreement came out of the anti-abortion organization’s 2024 lawsuit against the Health Department, filed when the agency stopped releasing the individual reports but reversed itself after Gov. Mike Braun took office this year.
The decision written by Judge Mark Bailey cited the reprimand Bernard received in 2023 from the state Medical Licensing Board for publicly discussing the abortion she provided for a 10-year-old rape victim.
Bernard’s statements then shared some of the same information, such as age, state of residence, gestational age and approximate date of treatment, that would be available from the terminated pregnancy reports.
“Defendants contend that TPRs are not patient medical records because they do not include the patient’s name,” the decision released Friday said of the Health Department. “But the absence of a patient’s name from a TPR does not make it something other than a patient medical record, just as the absence of a driver’s name from a Bureau of Motor Vehicles driving record does not make it something other than a driving record.”
Marion County judge blocks release of abortion records
Bernard and Rouse said in a statement released by their lawyers that they welcomed the court’s decision and its affirmation of our patients’ right to privacy.”
“Doctors cannot provide safe, ethical care when patients’ personal health information is at risk of being exposed,” their statement said. “This decision strengthens the safeguards that allow us to continue to provide evidence-based reproductive healthcare. We will continue to stand against any state or federal attempts to undermine the rights of patients and the doctors who care for them.”
The state attorney general’s office, which is representing the Health Department in the case, did not immediately reply Monday to a request seeking comment.
The decision could be appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court.
The reports — redacted to protect patients — were released for years. Anti-abortion groups have filed complaints with the attorney general’s office based on the abortion reports, including if a doctor filed a report late. But the Health Department stopped releasing them after a near-total abortion ban meant far fewer abortions. They feared a woman could be identified, and instead released aggregate data released in quarterly reports. Those do not include the names of the doctors or dates of procedure.
Voices for Life argued that it was seeking the reports in order to monitor whether doctors were abiding by the state’s near-total abortion ban that was enacted in 2022.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
