Watchdog group asks 5 attorneys general to investigate crisis pregnancy center privacy practices

A progressive watchdog group sent letters Tuesday asking attorneys general in five states to investigate the privacy practices of crisis pregnancy centers, arguing they could be misleading patients with claims that sensitive medical data is protected by health privacy laws, according to copies of the letters obtained by NBC News.

While the letters don’t allege misuse of private health information the pregnancy centers collect, they ask the attorneys general to investigate what they use the information for and whether crisis pregnancy centers are using it to further anti-abortion goals.

The letters, sent by the Campaign for Accountability, allege that the centers, which try to dissuade pregnant women from seeking abortions, gather sensitive and private medical information as part of their appointment scheduling processes. The letters asked the attorneys general of Idaho, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington to use their investigative power to probe why crisis pregnancy centers are gathering and retaining sensitive medical information and what they do with it — and potentially charge the centers with violating state consumer protection laws.

The centers, which provide counseling and services for women coping with unplanned pregnancies, say on their websites that they comply with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, as a promise that the information is protected and kept confidential.

However, because the centers offer services for free, they are not legally bound by federal health data privacy laws, creating a privacy risk that could be exploited in the wake of efforts to criminalize abortion, according to the letters.

At the time of publication, the pregnancy