Michigan Democrats move to protect reproductive health data before GOP takes control of House
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Democrats are pushing this month to pass legislation they say will improve reproductive health care, particularly child safety. digital health datain front Republicans will take back the State House in 2025.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is backing a bill to protect reproductive health data, including data recorded on menstrual cycle tracking apps. Similar legislation passed in other states aims to prevent data from being used to target people seeking abortions.
“It seems like a very urgent need for us to do this while we have a window in Michigan with the Democratic majority for the next few weeks,” said Sen. Mallory McMorrow, sponsor of the digital privacy bill.
The rush is a reaction to expectations that it will be harder to pass reproductive health policies favored by Democrats after Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January. Democrats retained control of the state Senate in the November elections.
Republicans opposed the digital privacy bill because of a section they say would stifle anti-abortion advertising.
Other reproductive health bills to be considered in the December session that began Tuesday include a Black maternal health package and expanding access to birth control.
After the overturning Roe v. WadeSome women living in states where abortion is strictly prohibited have begun to worry that their health information could be used to track their reproductive status. Apps that track menstrual cycles has become a major point of interest.
Abortion is protected by the Constitution in Michigan. But McMorrow doesn’t trust President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to veto any potential national ban on abortion nor his campaign’s efforts to distance itself from Project 2025which proposed a rollback of access to abortion and contraception.
Period tracking apps allow women to take detailed day-to-day notes about their health, from the size of their period to additional symptoms such as cramps. They can record pregnancies and miscarriages.
“These tools are really valuable,” McMorrow said. “I just want to make sure the guardrails are there when the new federal administration indicates that they could potentially use data as a very dangerous weapon.”
Federal law prohibits medical providers from sharing health data without patient consent, but does not prevent digital technology companies from tracking an individual’s menstrual cycles or location and selling it to data brokers . Federal ban laws never gained momentum, largely because of opposition from the tech industry.
How the law works varies from state to state. Washington State has a digital privacy law that broadly covers all health-related data. Virginia has a law that explicitly prohibits the issuance of search warrants, subpoenas, or court orders regarding electronic or digital menstrual health data.
Michigan’s proposal would require businesses or organizations to use reproductive health data only for the services they provide, and that consumers be informed about how the data is used. In order to sell this data, an entity would need explicit, signed consent from the consumer. Consumers would also be able to refuse the sale of their data at any time.
It would also regulate retailers, who often compile data to target consumers with ads, as well as the use of geofencing, which allows marketers to target consumers with ads based on their location.
The bill would prohibit identifying people who receive reproductive health care by using location information and targeting them with advertisements. This would apply to people visiting fertility or abortion clinics.
The bill’s geofencing provision sparked opposition from abortion advocates. Genevieve Marnon, legislative director of Right to Life of Michigan, said in committee testimony Tuesday that the bill would protect women visiting an abortion clinic from being hit with anti-abortion ads.
“This does not protect women’s reproductive health data,” she said. “This limits the options available to women.”
Republican Senator John Damoose, who voted against the bill in committee, believes the geofencing provision infringes on freedom of speech and religion by preventing anti-abortion advertising.
The bill passed out of committee on party lines Tuesday and advanced to a final vote in the Senate on Thursday.
Kimya Forouzan, senior director of state policy at the Guttmacher Institute, hopes the topic will be taken up by other state legislatures next year. Guttmacher, who supports abortion rights, tracks reproductive health trends.
Over the past two years, Michigan Democrats have passed bills repealing a number of anti-abortion laws, including the state’s own. 1931 banand adding surrogacy protections to state law. Lawmakers are considering a number of other reproductive health-related measures this month.
A group of bills focused on improving the maternal health of black women would create, among other measures, a doula scholarship. The Senate voted on its package on the subject in the House on Tuesday.
Rep. Jaime Churches, a Democrat from the region downriver from Detroit who lost his seat in November, is trying to gain traction for two bills that would require insurance to cover fertility treatmentsincluding in vitro fertilization and intrauterine insemination.
Three bills aimed at expanding access to birth control through insurance have passed the State House. McMorrow also introduced a series of bills aimed at providing long-term reversible contraception, such as implants or intrauterine devices, to patients who gave birth before they were released from the hospital.
There is a competition among Democrats for time during this short and lame session. Supporters of economic development, infrastructure and gun control measures are among many seeking to pass bills in the remaining month. A major conflict over new paid sick leave and minimum wage requirements is likely to attract attention. These discussions could reduce the time available to discuss reproductive health measures.
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