It goes without saying that abortion is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Every woman has the right to decide whether she wants to continue with her pregnancy or not. Therefore, when the Supreme Court’s decision came on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, there has been some obvious ripple effects. In fact, 13 states enacted to immediately ban the procedure. Moreover, this decision also had a huge implication on the reproductive health data. Yes, it is the info that we access through our phones. This data is actually collected in apps and sold to brokers. Needless to say, it becomes far more dangerous. Needless to say, the police or any right-wing groups can aggregate or purchase the data and find all those women considering abortion. So indeed this data is highly significant. Let us have a look at what Congresswoman Sara Jacobs says regarding this matter.
What Did Sara Jacobs Say Regarding Reproductive Health Data?
Since you are reading this article it is evident that you are curious to know more about this burning issue. Well, you are at the right place as we will share some of the significant aspects of it. Congresswoman Sara Jacobs is a Democrat from California.
According to Jacobs, personal reproductive health data which are collected in period tracking apps should have special federal privacy protection. So this is actually the message behind her new bill. Yes, you guessed it right we are talking about “My Body, My Data Act.” She introduced the bill in the House on June 21. Later on, Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Ron Wyden of Oregon will introduce a Senate version.
Do you know groups like Planned Parenthood and the Electronic Frontier Foundation endorsed this bill? This would create via the Federal Trade Commission a new standard to safeguard reproductive health data. Let us now look into the details to see what Jacob’s comments were about the bill.
How Would The Bill Affect The Tech Companies According to Sara Jacobs?
According to Jacobs, the bill limits the data that can be collected, retained, or used to what is strictly necessary to deliver their product or service. Therefore, instead of mandating what they can do with the data, they are currently mandating how much of the data they can collect.
In fact, when the interviewer asked Jacobs about period-tracking apps, she said that she uses one every month. This predicts when she would get her period. So, suppose there are no protections from a right-wing group or non-profit group in Texas, buying that data from tech companies will predict when women will get their period. Therefore, you will be able to know if you missed it or not.
Is This Bill Something That Might Be Swept Into A Larger Bill That Covers More Aspects Of Privacy?
So in reply to this question Jacobs said that she had lived most of her life online. Therefore, she feels that this bill is long overdue for Congress to have a much larger conversation about privacy and protection. Jacobs feels that at this moment people do need this bill for securing the particular data regarding pregnancy.
Ending Note
Needless to say, the moment the news of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, the Californian representative bill came up, there was a stir among the netizens. Various celebrities also uploaded their comments and shared their opinion. We hope that the US government can achieve success in passing this bill soon.
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