Feminists For Choice

Reyna breaks it down for us about how the new Oklahoma abortion law is a violation of privacy laws.

Full text of the script is available for you after the jump.

If you haven’t heard, Oklahoma has passed a law which violates privacy rights, gives doctors and clinics more paperwork, and increases the probability of violence against abortion clinics. That’s right, this law will take demographic information from EVERY womyn who has an abortion in Oklahoma… and then this information will be available on a website.

That’s right ladies, if you get an abortion- everything but your name will be out there on a website for all the world to see. Maybe next we can create a website of all fathers who abandon their partners and children. I mean- what is the Purpose of this law? This law will require doctors to ask specific demographic questions of their abortion patients, document the answers, then send them to the state to be posted on the website.

When I first heard of this new law, I thought they were also posting their names—I was happy to hear of the 34 questions they are asking and the 34 questions they are posting—the patients Name is not attached. But who cares, this is still a violation if HIPAA- or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well being. This law does quite the opposite. Instead of protecting patients this law puts these womyn in danger.

To understand the violations of privacy, lets take a look at some of the questions asked for the website. Date of abortion, county in which abortion is performed, AGE of mother, Marital Status of Mother, Race of Mother, Years of Education of Mother State or foreign country of resisdence, total number of previous pregnancies- including live births, miscarriages, and induced abortions, Approximate gestational age in weeks as measured from the last menstrual period of other, of the unborn child subject to abortion, Method used, If life-sustaining measures were taken, if anesthesia wa administered, the method of fetal tissue disposal, REASON for the abortion, Method of payment, Type of INSURANCE, sum of fee collected, speciality area of medicine of the physician, If a ultrasound was used, If portions of the new law was provided to the mother, how it was provided, … then if she was a minor—she must give her age, if a parent was given the new law, if informed consent was obtained, .. then at the end of all the questions, it states- In accordance with subsection F of Section 1-738d of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, public reports based on this form will not contain the name, address, or any other identifying information of any individual female.

WHAT?! Are you fucking kidding me? How is age, race, marital status, years of education, number of previous births, LOCATION of the CLINIC- NOT identifiable marks?! If I live in BFE—which I did, I don’t suppose it would be too hard in a small town to figure out who the 26 year old, single, latina female with a masters degree and no previous births… is… Not to mention this website will give all the Con-choice extremist something else to gawk at! This is a ridiculous violation of Privacy as HIPAA sums up in their basic principle statement, which states A major purpose of the Privacy Rule is to define and limit the circumstances in which an individual’s protected heath information may be used or disclosed by covered entities. A covered entity may not use or disclose protected health information, except either: (1) as the Privacy Rule permits or requires; or (2) as the individual who is the subject of the information (or the individual’s personal representative) authorizes in writing. Required Disclosures. State that A covered entity must disclose protected health information in only two situations: (a) to individuals (or their personal representatives) specifically when they request access to, or an accounting of disclosures of, their protected health information; and (b) to HHS when it is undertaking a compliance investigation or review or enforcement action.

The new Oklahoma law is a clear violation of HIPAA and I’m still unsure as to why this law was created in the first place. I hope this is over turned, for the life and protection of Oklahoma womyn who make choices. Thanks again for listening to me speak. `