Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Campaign for Accountability urgently called on Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murril to investigate the Unexpected Pregnancy Center, an unregulated pregnancy clinic (UPC, also known as “crisis pregnancy center”) operating within the state. The complaint raises grave concerns that the personal health information and identities of women seeking care at the UPC were recklessly exposed in training videos for Heartbeat International’s “Next Level” database platform. This flagrant breach of privacy is not only a violation of trust but a deeply troubling exploitation of vulnerable individuals, demanding immediate action to protect the rights and dignity of those affected.
Heartbeat International, a UPC network which provides legal, training, and technical support to thousands of UPCs across the country, uploaded a training video for its “Next Level” database platform, visible to the public to those with the link to the video, in which the name and sensitive information of real people seeking care at the New Iberia, LA UPC were visible on screen.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has recently confirmed that UPCs are not covered by HIPAA, which suggests they are collecting sensitive health information without legal accountability. Despite this, many UPCs instruct their clients to file HIPAA complaints with HHS.
“The UPC industry is collecting the sensitive information of women seeking their care without absolutely no legal oversight, and they are being reckless with that information, as evidenced by the egregious lack of care taken when uploading these training videos,” said Debra Rosen, executive director of Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch. “Attorney General Murril must act quickly in order to ensure that women know about the danger that the UPCs pose to their privacy.”
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