Indiana allows so few abortions that health officials stopped releasing individual reports to protect patient privacy — a move some Republicans are now fighting to reverse. The Republicans, including prominent candidates for office this year, want access to reports detailing each abortion still performed in the state. Advocates for abortion rights and some state officials warn that would jeopardize the privacy of physicians and patients who can only receive abortions under strict circumstances.
After Rokita released his opinion, the health department said the reports are not public record, and pointed to an informal opinion written by an appointed open records official in December. Rokita argued the reports are not medical records and could show whether an abortion was performed legally. Without the reports, he said, “there is no effective way” to enforce the state's near-total ban. The Legislature should act next year if the department doesn't, Zay said Thursday.