The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new measures to bolster patient-provider confidentiality surrounding abortions and reproductive care, according to a release from the department.

Through its Office for Civil Rights, HHS on April 12 issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule protections by prohibiting the use or disclosure of protected health information to investigate or prosecute patients, providers, and others involved in the provision of legal reproductive health care, including abortion care, the release stated. HHS wrote that the measure was necessary "to protect patient-provider confidentiality and prevent private medical records from being used against people for merely seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating lawful reproductive health care." The measure was the result of an executive order signed by President Joe Biden.

“When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, nearly half a century of precedent changed overnight,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the release. “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to protecting women’s lawful access to reproductive health care, including abortion care. President Biden signed not one but two executive orders calling on HHS to take action to meet this moment and we have wasted no time in doing so. Today’s action is yet another important step HHS is taking to protect patients accessing critical care.”

The release added that the rule change was "required, according to patients, providers, and organizations that speak for thousands of people."

Biden issued Executive Order 14076 to instruct HHS to look into methods to improve the confidentiality between patients and providers and the safeguarding of sensitive data pertaining to reproductive health care services. The announcement came as Biden's Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access, which is charged with defending women's access to reproductive health care, meets for the third time, the release added.

“I have met with doctors across the country who have shared their stories," Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said in the release. "These providers have expressed fear, anger, and sadness that they or their patients may end up in jail for providing or obtaining evidence-based and medically appropriate care. Trust is critical in the patient-doctor relationship and medical mistrust can damage and chill patients’ relationship with their providers, imperiling patient health. Today’s proposed rule is about safeguarding this trust in the patient-provider relationship, and ensuring that when you go to the doctor, your private medical records will not be disclosed and used against you for seeking lawful care.”