LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Democrats are pushing to pass a bill this month that they say will improve safety in reproductive health care, especially for women. digital health datafirst Republicans will take over statehouses in 2025.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports a bill aimed at protecting reproductive health data, including data recorded by menstrual cycle tracking apps. Similar bills passed in other states aim to prevent data from being used to target people seeking abortions.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, the sponsor of the digital privacy bill, said, “There seems to be a very urgent need to get this done while there is a grace period with the Democratic majority in Michigan over the next few weeks.” It feels like it’s happening,” he said.
The rush is a response to expectations that it will be harder to pass reproductive health policies favored by Democrats after Republicans take control of the state Legislature in January. Democrats retained a majority in the state Senate in November’s election.
Republicans oppose the digital privacy bill because of a provision that would curb anti-abortion advertising.
Other reproductive health bills to be considered in the December session of Congress, which begins Tuesday, include a maternal and child health package for Black people and expanded access to contraception.
after that Roe vs. Wade reversalSome women in states with strict abortion bans began to worry that their health information could be used to track their reproductive status. App to track menstrual cycle became a major focus.
Abortion is protected by the constitution In Michigan. But McMorrow doesn’t trust President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promises. veto potential nationwide abortion ban There was also no effort by his camp to distance itself. project 2025proposed a rollback of access to abortion and contraception.
Period tracking apps allow women to take detailed daily notes about their health, from the amount of their periods to additional symptoms such as menstrual pain. Pregnancies and miscarriages can be recorded.
“These tools are really valuable,” McMorrow says. “We want to make sure we have guardrails in place should the next federal government give any indication that it might weaponize data in a very dangerous way.”
Federal law prohibits health care providers from sharing health data without a patient’s consent, but it does not prevent digital technology companies from tracking menstrual cycles or a person’s location and selling it to data brokers. Federal bans have not gained traction, largely due to opposition from the technology industry.
The laws differ from state to state. Washington state has a digital privacy law that broadly covers all health-related data. virginia has a law that expressly prohibits the issuance of search warrants, subpoenas, or court orders for electronic or digital menstrual health data.
Michigan’s proposal would require companies and organizations to use reproductive health data only for the services they provide, and consumers would need to be informed how their data is being used. To sell that data, companies require explicit signed consent from consumers. Consumers will also have the option to opt out of having their data sold at any time.
It would also regulate retailers, which often collect data to target consumers with ads, and the use of geofencing, which allows marketers to target consumers with ads based on their location. It turns out.
The bill would prohibit the use of location information to identify people receiving reproductive health care or target them with advertising. This applies to people visiting fertility or abortion clinics.
The bill’s geofencing provisions have drawn opposition from abortion opponents. Michigan Right to Life Legislative Director Genevieve Marnone said in committee testimony Tuesday that the bill would prevent women visiting abortion clinics from seeing anti-abortion advertising.
“This does not protect women’s reproductive health data,” she says. “That limits the options available to women.”
Republican Sen. John Dammuth, who voted against the bill in committee, believes the geofencing provision violates freedom of speech and religion by blocking anti-abortion advertising.
The bill was voted out of committee on party-line lines on Tuesday and advanced to the Senate floor for a final vote on Thursday.
Kimiya Forouzan, director of state policy at the Guttmacher Institute, expects other state legislatures will take up the topic next year. Guttmacher, who supports abortion rights, tracks trends in reproductive health.
Over the past two years, Michigan Democrats have passed legislation repealing a number of anti-abortion laws, including the state’s own. Prohibition of 1931and add Protection of surrogacy to state law. Lawmakers are considering a number of other bills related to reproductive health this month.
A series of bills focused on improving maternal and child health for Black women would create doula scholarships and more. The Senate passed a policy proposal on the topic to the House on Tuesday.
Rep. Jaime Churches, a Democrat from lower Detroit who lost his seat in November, is trying to get momentum behind two bills: Insurance that covers infertility treatmentsuch as in vitro fertilization and intrauterine insemination.
Three bills have passed the state Legislature that would expand access to contraceptive insurance. McMorrow also introduced a series of bills aimed at providing long-term sustainable reversible contraception methods, such as implants and intrauterine devices, to postpartum patients before they leave the hospital.
Democrats are competing for time during this short lame duck session. Many supporters of economic development, infrastructure and gun control measures are trying to get legislation passed in the remaining months. The great controversy is over New paid sick leave and minimum wage requirements It is likely to attract attention. Such debates may reduce the amount of time available for discussing reproductive health measures.
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