A Texas woman who was jailed and charged with murder after self-managing an abortion in 2022 can move forward with her lawsuit against the local sheriff and prosecutors over the case that drew national outrage before the charges were quickly dropped, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton denied a motion by prosecutors and the sheriff to dismiss the lawsuit during a hearing in the border city of McAllen. Lizelle Gonzalez, who spent two nights in jail on the murder charges and is seeking $1 million in damages in the lawsuit, did not attend the hearing.
Texas has one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans and outlaws the procedure with limited exceptions. Under Texas law, women seeking an abortion are exempt from criminal charges, however.
Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez and other defendants have argued their positions provide them immunity from civil lawsuits.
Rick Navarro, an attorney for the defense, argued that it was “at worst a negligence case” during the hearing. Ramirez has previously told The Associated Press that he “made a mistake” in bringing charges.
Yeah, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does not allow cops to access your medical records at all, unless they have a warrant. Even if they have a warrant, they can’t add or remove anything. No one at the hospital is going to tip off police; we want people to seek care without being afraid of the consequences. If the cops were involved in a car accident, they’ll have details from the vehicle registration. They’ll follow up when the patient is out of the hospital.
TLDR the cops can’t fuck with your medical records, and if the hospital released records illegally whoever did it is fukd.