Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured what he calls a “major victory for the rule of law” after a controversial Biden-era Health and Human Services (HHS) rule — one that restricted states from obtaining medical records tied to abortions and gender transition procedures — was permanently vacated in court. The case has now been dismissed following a joint motion filed by Paxton and the Trump Administration’s Department of Justice.
The now-defunct rule would have effectively allowed healthcare providers to refuse cooperation with state investigations into illegal abortions and gender-related procedures — even when responding to legitimate subpoenas. Critics widely viewed the rule as a backdoor attempt by President Biden’s HHS to protect abortion and gender-transition operations from state oversight after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the landmark Dobbs decision.
Paxton did not mince words about the administration’s intentions.
“The Corrupt Biden Administration failed in its radical attempt to obstruct our ability to protect women, children, and those who can’t yet speak for themselves,” Paxton said. “This is a crucial win for Texas, the unborn and the rule of law.”
The Biden rule attempted to reinterpret HIPAA, the federal medical privacy law, to prevent states from accessing information related to what HHS broadly labeled “reproductive health care” — a definition expansive enough to cover abortions, gender-transition procedures for minors and other controversial treatments.
Under the rule, hospitals and clinics could have faced criminal penalties for complying with state investigations — even if the state was pursuing violations of law. Texas argued this amounted to a federal attempt to shield abortion providers and gender clinics from accountability.
Paxton’s office emphasized that the ruling reaffirms the authority of states — not Washington — to set and enforce laws governing abortion and transgender medical interventions. The decision comes as multiple states strengthen protections for the unborn and move to restrict permanent, experimental gender procedures on minors.
The Attorney General says this outcome sends a message that federal agencies cannot sidestep state sovereignty or use bureaucratic rulemaking to advance political agendas.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision returning abortion law to the states, the Biden administration scrambled to preserve abortion access through executive actions and regulatory maneuvers. Critics say the vacated rule was part of that strategy — and intended to make it harder for states like Texas to pursue wrongdoing by abortion and gender-transition providers.
Now, with the case resolved and the rule permanently vacated, Texas officials say they are free to enforce state law without federal interference.
Conservatives see this as a pivotal blow to Biden’s post-Dobbs abortion maneuvering — and a clear message that states still have the right to defend life, protect children and hold the medical industry accountable.
