DATE:
August 16, 2022
08
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF MY BODY, MY DATA ACT: PROTECTING THE PRIVACY, DATA, AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE SEEKING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE (DISTRICTS: ALL)
OVERVIEW
In the 30 days since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court, 11 states have enacted bans on abortion. Another 15 states are certain or likely to ban abortion now that Roe is no longer in place. Some of these states already criminalize abortion or people who assist a person seeking an abortion. Personal reproductive health data found on a person's phone, computer, or stored in apps can be weaponized in these criminalization efforts. We need policies that reflect today's world and the intersection between our digital lives and our reproductive rights.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs' My Body, My Data Act (H.R. 8111), guards against the misuse of personal reproductive health data by restricting the use of such data by businesses and nongovernmental organizations. This board letter recommends that the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (Board) adopt a resolution to formally support the My Body, My Data Act.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
VICE-CHAIR NORA VARGAS AND SUPERVISOR LAWSON-REMER
1. Adopt the Resolution titled: "RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CONGRESSWOMAN SARA JACOBS' MY BODY, MY DATA ACT TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY, DATA, AND SAFETY OF PEOPLE SEEKING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE."
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The lack of strong digital privacy protections has implications in the face of expanding criminalization of reproductive health care. Laws that criminalize reproductive health care are already being used to disproportionately penalize Black and Brown people. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, the past 15 years have seen a spike in arrests and prosecutions for crimes related to stillbirths, miscarriages, and alleged drug and alcohol use during pregnancy. Of the 1,600 people prosecuted for these offenses ...
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