Judge Blocks Access to Abortion Records

Source: Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court

INDIANAPOLIS — Marion County Superior Court Judge James A. Joven is blocking access to abortion records in Indiana for at least over a week.

Indiana’s near-total abortion ban says the state has to release records on any abortion that happens. However, privacy concerns for the small number of people still able to get abortions led the Indiana Department of Health (IDoH) to stop reporting people for abortions.

Shortly after taking office, Governor Mike Braun signed an executive order that directs the Indiana Department of Health to make those records public, but on February 6th, two doctors, who were represented by the Lawyering Project, sued to block the access of those records.

On February 19th, Joven filed a temporary restraining order, blocking access to those reports in Indiana. Those reports are known as Terminated Pregnancy Reports (TPRs), and they include a lot of medical information about each abortion. The Indiana Department of Health says the reports are medical records, and they cannot be revealed.

Voices for Life, which is an anti-abortion group, is suing Indiana so to gain access to those records.

Doctors Caitlin Bernard and Caroline Rouse took legal action to stop the release of abortion records to Voices for Life.

Judge Joven said that if the group were to receive the records, they could announce them. He also talked about a case involving Bernard, who was penalized by the Medical Licensing Board in 2023 for disclosing details about a young rape victim, including her age and home state, to a reporter.