Baldwin Introduces Legislation to Protect Women’s Privacy and Reproductive Health Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) joined her Senate colleagues in reintroducing the My Body, My Data Act, legislation to protect personal reproductive and sexual health data by minimizing the information collected and retained, and preventing that information from being disclosed or misused.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, Wisconsin and 18 other states have total or near total abortion bans—putting people who are getting, seeking, or facilitating reproductive health care at risk of having their digital footprints weaponized against them.

“Women in Wisconsin have already had their right and freedom to control their bodies ripped away. The last thing they need is to have their personal and private health data tracked, collected, and used again them,” said Senator Baldwin. “I’m proud to support the My Body, My Data Act because it takes the necessary steps to safeguard women’s privacy and protect their most sensitive reproductive health data so it isn’t collected and used against them by those who want to interfere with their freedoms.”

Currently, few protections exist to prevent personal reproductive health data, or information about people seeking reproductive health services, from being collected, retained, or disclosed to third parties.

The My Body, My Data Act would address this by:

• Limiting the personal reproductive and sexual health data that can be collected, retained, used, or disclosed to only what is needed to deliver a product or service;
• Protecting personal data collected by entities not currently covered under HIPAA, including data collected by apps, cell phones, and search engines;
• Requiring regulated entities to develop and share a privacy policy outlining how they collect, retain, use, and disclose personal reproductive health information;
• Creating a private right of action to allow individuals to hold regulated entities accountable for violations;
• Providing additional consumer protections, including the right to access, correct, or delete personal data;
• Including a non-preemption clause that allows states to provide further protection for reproductive and sexual health privacy.

Senator Baldwin has long fought to safeguard women’s reproductive rights and freedoms and has been a steadfast advocate in protecting women’s reproductive health data. Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin led her colleagues in a letter calling on the Biden administration to better protect Americans’ reproductive health data under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

An online version of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.