My Body, My Data Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. JACOBS of California. Mr. Speaker, right now, as we meet in this Chamber, the Supreme Court is releasing a new slate of opinions. And like millions of people across the country, I have been waiting with dread for what is coming. As we wait, we are texting, messaging our friends and loved ones, providing support, looking for more information, and it is all taking place on our devices. That is how we live in 2022.

I am determined to make sure that as we continue to fight for our rights, we do so with policies that reflect today's world. That is why I am proud to have introduced the My Body, My Data Act, new legislation to protect our personal reproductive health data. I am proud that Senator Hirono and Senator Wyden have introduced a companion bill in the Senate and that we have 43 cosponsors from across the ideological spectrum here in the House.

When the Supreme Court's draft decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization leaked, the decision that would undo decades of precedent and overturn the landmark opinion of Roe v. Wade, I immediately started hearing from friends and constituents, panicked that their reproductive health data could fall into the wrong hands, panicked that the personal information on their phones, on their computers could be used against them in a post-Roe world where abortion is criminalized and where laws, like the Texas bounty hunter law, give extremists a financial incentive to target vulnerable people.

Shortly after, experts started sounding the alarm that our personal reproductive health data--from search engines to menstruation and pregnancy-tracking apps--would be used to target people if abortion is criminalized. Right now, there are no protections from that happening.

Mr. Speaker, as a young woman, reproductive healthcare is my healthcare. And like tens of millions of Americans, I have used apps to track my period. When the draft decision leaked, I knew we couldn't wait for the final opinion. We couldn't just wait for Roe to be overturned so I got to work, because it is unconscionable that our personal reproductive information could be sold to the highest bidder and weaponized against us--and especially against low-income people and people of color, who would be the most impacted if Roe is overturned.

To protect access, Congress must codify the right to an abortion, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Women's Health Protection Act. Alongside strong protections for abortion access, we need strong privacy protections. That is why I introduced the My Body, My Data Act. Our personal reproductive and sexual health information is our most sensitive and personal data, and it deserves the highest level of privacy protection that the government can provide.

I am proud to say that is what the My Body, My Data Act accomplishes. It is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many others. This bill restricts businesses and nongovernmental organizations from collecting, using, retaining, or disclosing reproductive health information beyond what is strictly necessary to provide a product or service.

The bill provides everyday people with the right to access or delete their personal reproductive health information, if they choose to, and it requires organizations to publish their privacy policies.

Importantly, the My Body, My Data Act includes strong enforcement mechanisms, including a private right of action that allows individuals to bring a lawsuit if their privacy is violated.

With 26 States likely or certain to ban abortion if Roe is overturned, this legislation is more urgent than ever. I am proud to lead this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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