My Body, My Data Act: A New Federal Standard for Reproductive-Health Privacy
In a country where your ride-share history or Google searches could land you in an abortion investigation, the United States Bill, My Body, My Data Act aims to establish strong federal protections for reproductive health data, reintroduced in the U.S. House on June 11,2025, by Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), MBMD proposes the strongest federal protections to date for reproductive and sexual health information.
The Bill zeroes in on an increasingly urgent issue in the post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization era, the weaponization of personal digital data in reproductive health investigations. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, many states have enacted strict abortion bans or heavily restricted access, creating a chilling landscape in which ordinary online activity can be interpreted as evidence of criminal conduct. Data that once felt personal, such as period-tracking logs, fertility app entries, Google searches, private Facebook messages, GPS location trails, and license-plate scans have become a treasure trove for prosecutors, police, and even private actors pursuing abortion-related claims.
These are not theoretical risks, they’ve already materialized in real-world cases:
In Mississippi (2017), Latice Fisher was indicted for second-degree murder after suffering a stillbirth. Prosecutors used her internet search history and text messages, including searches for “buy abortion pills online” to build their case.
In Nebraska (2022), law enforcement obtained a young woman’s Facebook direct messages, where she and her mother discussed self-managed abortion methods. Those messages became central to felony prosecution. Although pivotal, the charges were not based solely on them.
In 2023, anti-abortion groups were found to have purchased cellphone location data from data brokers, which revealed visits to Planned Parenthood clinics and was used to target individuals for surveillance or protest.
In May 2025, Texas authorities reportedly used automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems across state lines to track the movements of a woman suspected of ending her pregnancy outside the legal framework.
Together, these cases show a disturbing trend, digital breadcrumbs are now routinely used to police reproductive choices, often without individuals realizing their data has been captured or repurposed. What was once private, searches for missed periods, GPS routes near clinics, or app logs about menstrual cycles is now potentially admissible in court. The MBMD Act confronts this reality head-on, seeking to create legal boundaries where none currently exist for this highly sensitive and politically charged category of personal data.
Read Full Newsletter Here — My Body, My Data Act: A New Federal Standard for Reproductive-Health Privacy
Advertise on APSense
This advertising space is available.
Post Your Ad Here
Post Your Ad Here
Comments