On February 3, 2025, the Indiana Attorney General, representing the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), agreed to settle a lawsuit brought against the state health department by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Voices for Life—ensuring the immediate release of public abortion records. In May 2024, Thomas More Society attorneys filed a lawsuit against the IDOH and State Health Commissioner Dr. Lindsay Weaver for violating Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, after the state health department reversed course and refused to publicly release the abortion records.

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Since 2022, Voice for Life, an Indiana-based pro-life organization, has requested and reviewed Termination of Pregnancy Reports (TPRs) to ensure that licensed healthcare professionals comply with Indiana laws protecting the unborn. The state health department routinely complied with Voices for Life’s requests until the fall of 2023, after which the department responded that it would no longer release individual TPRs, citing confidentiality of
patient medical records. Indiana abortion providers are required by law to submit individual reports, without patient names or other identifying factors, to improve maternal health and to ensure Indiana’s abortion industry follows state law.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita previously issued an advisory opinion critical of the health department’s refusal to release individual reports and noted that concealing the data impedes his office from investigating complaints against abortion providers and effectively enforcing Indiana’s abortion laws. In reviewing past reports, Voices for Life has discovered about 700 instances of apparent illegal activity among abortion providers and filed complaints with the state health department and the attorney general’s office.

According to the terms of the settlement, IDOH will now release TPRs upon lawful request and not designate the reports as confidential medical records. The settlement agreement secures this release of individual TPRs with minimal redactions designed to ensure that the TPRs cannot be misused to identify an individual. The settlement follows Executive Order 25-20, signed on January 21, 2025, by Indiana Governor Mike Braun, directing “all state agencies to ensure that the State of Indiana’s abortion laws are fully and faithfully executed, including, but not limited to, the submission of TPRs.”

Thomas Olp, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President, stated: “We are grateful to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office for recognizing that individual Termination of Pregnancy Reports are public records that must be released. TPRs are essential to ensuring Indiana’s abortion laws are properly enforced. By reviewing the state’s abortion records, Voices for Life tirelessly protects the safety and well-being of Indiana women and children. This settlement agreement will allow Voices for Life to continue effectively performing its important public service as a watchdog over the state’s abortion industry.”

Melanie Garcia Lyon, Executive Director of Voices for Life, added: “The public release of these reports is a victory for vulnerable women and children in Indiana. Access to these reports will help ensure abortionists are held accountable for violating health and safety regulations. We would like to thank the Thomas More Society for their fearless defense of the unborn in this litigation, the Braun Administration for mandating transparency within the IDOH, and the Attorney General’s Office for their continued support in enforcing Indiana’s pro-life legislation.”

Read the Settlement Agreement in Voices for Life, Inc. v. Indiana Department of Health, et al., agreed to on February 3, 2025, here.

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