Originally published at: Prying into women's healthcare records, Idaho Republicans also issue a chilling threat | Boing Boing
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As usual, Republicans want a government small enough to fit in your uterus.
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Ever since these vile morons in a few states have been desperately trying to create Gilead* from The Handmaid’s Tale, i’ve been mumbling “What of HIPAA!?” This a solidly implemented federal law which would clearly prohibit states gaining access to any person’s medical records, and perhaps particularly so when those records have crossed state lines, (and thus become even more clearly a federal matter). yes… the current supreme court is a cesspool; but why hasn’t there been at least a half dozen class action suits to federal courts? @#$!!! ((IANAL but know a bit about HIPAA because we had to carefully program a medical database interface to adhere to its very all encompassing privacy standards))
*hat-tip to @cannibalpeas
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It wasn’t originally written to protect against the prohibition of medical procedures:
Fortunately, Brandon is trying to fix it:
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A law can require a health care provider to report certain things, and that can overrule HIPAA. For instance, ER’s must report stabbings, shootings, and dog bites in Colorado. It is called mandatory reporting.
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None of these requests are accompanied by a warrant, they are the state government asking for the data. It would be great if the hospitals did what librarians tend to do and refuse to share.
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This is just more of the kind of shit that will drive healthcare providers out of red states. Might be working as intended, I don’t know. But certainly, is the effective if not intended action brought on by these laws. I hate it for the patients there, but I do understand the decision of providers to limit their practice or abandon the state entirely.
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It seems only fair to release all of the pols medical records online.
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The worst part is, none of these republican assholes care about anyone getting an abortion or not. All these right wing wackos are all trying to out conservative each other. "I used the word “woke” 18 times today!!
And calling themselves the “Freedom Caucus”!?!? They probably want to change Idaho’s name to the Ministry of Truth.
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Maybe not, I’m not going to pretend to know all the details, but the point I was making is that we’ve seen just the simple fear of legal action cripple healthcare in states that have passed these laws. Until the courts litigate every aspect of this, the chilling effect will do their busywork for them, which is precisely why they would send such a vaguely-worded letter in the first place.
Eta: what @docosc said.
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Yes, they do want to force women to carry pregnancies that might not be wanted. Believe what they are telling you, because they are working to make it happen and have made it happen.
And given the outcome, it does not matter what their actual intentions are, the outcomes is the same regardless. Women are suffering because of what they are doing, and that’s the point.
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But without an actual court order wouldn’t the hospitals be free to ignore the demand? The legislature has no standing to demand personal health data. The threat will definitely have an effect in any case, especially if hospital administrations decide to cave.
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I’m assuming that getting a court order in Idaho will be trivial and we’ve seen in other states that the mere whiff of court action completely freezes an already risk-averse industry.
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God, I did too. HIPPA was the overriding element. You can’t get around it.
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Or just leave and refuse to service anyone, with an “out of office until THEY are out of office” sign
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HIPAA only protects an individuals records. from the CDC: HIPAA Privacy Rule
The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information (known as protected health information or PHI
The quotes in this report appear to be for aggregated, anonymized data, which HIPAA does not cover.
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