Should Abortion Records Be Public Records?
Indiana Governor Mike Braun, Attorney General Todd Rokita, and anti-abortion activists say yes
One of Gov. Braun’s first executive orders was making individual Terminated Pregnancy Reports (TPRs) subject to public records requests and in February of 2025, two Indiana doctors sued.
Anytime a pregnancy is terminated in the State of Indiana, a TPR is completed by the healthcare provider and submitted to the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH). Before abortion was banned in Indiana in August of 2023, individual TPRs could be requested via public records requests. However, after the ban went into effect, the IDOH had privacy concerns. Although much of the patient’s information is redacted, with so few abortions being performed in the state, it would be easy to work backwards, especially in smaller communities, and figure out the patient’s identity.
After the ban, the IDOH began releasing quarterly reports of all the aggregated data from the TPRs. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita was not satisfied with that approach and urged Voices for Life, Inc. to sue the IDOH. In May of 2024, they sued the IDOH and Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Indiana Health Commissioner. Although Rokita, as attorney general, is responsible for representing state agencies and officials in litigation, he refused to represent the IDOH or Weaver in court, and brought in outside counsel. Neglecting one of his official duties was a clear sign of his partisan motives.
What has happened over the past year has been a real mess, to put it mildly. The IDOH and Voices for Life came to an settlement to release redacted reports, then Braun issued his executive order, and then the doctors sued to stop the order.
Braun, Rokita, and Voices for Life maintain that the public needs access to these records so they can check to see if Indiana’s abortion laws are being followed. It seems as if Rokita wants a little army of anti-abortion investigators spot-checking records all over the state and bringing to him any report that seems fishy. Rokita is a zealot and he would nothing more than to spend his career prosecuting abortion patients and providers. In 2023, there were 4,578 abortions performed in Indiana and in 2024, the first full year the ban was in effect, there only 146. Seems like the ban is working, Todd.
Dr. Caitlin Bernard and Dr. Caroline Rouse filed suit in Marion County to stop the release of individual TPRs citing privacy concerns. Judge Joven agreed with the doctors, plainly stating that because TPRs are created as a result of a medical procedure, they are medical records.
Voices For Life have appealed and the latest action was their brief which was filed this week on Monday, June 16.
There are many arguments articulated in the 35-page brief, but the one that stands out to me is an argument they have presented before. They continue to argue that the doctors do not have standing in this case because they cannot prove what harm would come to them if the TPRs are released. This continues to strike me as such a silly argument because Bernard clearly has suffered harm as a result of her name being available to the public. Although the TPRs would have some patient information redacted, all provider information including name and address would be visible. Given the heightened politicization of the abortion issue, fear from doctors for the safety of themselves, their families, and their practices is reasonable.
Bernard has a keen understanding of what happens when the public knows the name of a doctor who has provided an abortion. When she provided abortion care to a 10-year-old rape victim in 2022, Rokita went on a public crusade against her. She and her family are still being harassed to this day.
The amount of time and public funds being wasted on Rokita’s personal anti-abortion crusade is ridiculous, especially for someone who claims to appreciate government efficiency.
I will continue to keep an eye on this case and provide updates when available.