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The Indiana Department of Health opted to settle with an anti-abortion group seeking access to terminated pregnancy reports on Monday, as outlined in a seven-page agreement.
The department will release the individual reports filed on every abortion but with redactions to protect patient identity.
In a release thanking Gov. Mike Braun and Attorney General Todd Rokita for their support, the executive director for plaintiff Voices for Life celebrated the victory.
“The public release of these reports is a victory for vulnerable women and children in Indiana,” said Melanie Garcia Lyon. “Access to these reports will help ensure abortionists are held accountable for violating health and safety regulations.”
Indiana’s abortions sharply fell after the state adopted a near-total abortion ban, shrinking from thousands of procedures a year to more than 100. Citing patient confidentiality concerns, IDOH opted not to publicize individual terminated pregnancy reports — instead releasing aggregate information quarterly.
Voices for Life, an anti-abortion group from South Bend, sued the state, seeking access just one month after Rokita publicly sided against IDOH’s decision.
A Marion County judge dismissed the suit in September, though Voices for Life vowed to appeal. Earlier this month, Braun weighed in, issuing an executive order declaring the reports to be public record.
The conservative law firm, the Thomas More Society, represented the group in court.
The groups said they wanted access to the reports “to ensure that licensed healthcare professionals comply with Indiana laws protecting the unborn,” according to a release. Critics counter that anti-abortion groups frequently use such records to harass doctors performing the reproductive health care procedures.
As part of the agreement, the state will release less about the patient — such as her educational status and her race or ethnicity — but will continue detailing the procedure itself.
As part of the settlement, terminated pregnancy reports must include information detailing exceptions to Indiana’s near-total abortion ban, which allows for the procedure in instances of rape, incest, risks to maternal health or fatal fetal anomaly.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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