San Diego County supervisors voted Tuesday 4-1 in favor of a resolution supporting federal proposals aimed at protecting the privacy of reproductive health data.
Supervisors Terra Lawson Reamer and Nora Vargas sponsored a resolution supporting the bill introduced by San Diego, Democratic Rep. Sarah Jacobs.
“What we are trying to do is ensure that the information is not sold and used to prosecute individuals who are just living their lives,” said Lawson Reamer. He recently told CBS8.
If passed by Congress, Jacobs’ bill would read:
- Limiting the personal reproductive and sexual health data that may be collected, retained, used, or disclosed to only that necessary to provide the product or service
- Protect personal data collected by entities not currently covered by HIPAA, including data collected by apps, mobile phones, and search engines.
- Require regulated entities to develop and share privacy policies outlining how they collect, retain, use, and disclose reproductive health information about individuals
- Directs the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the law and develop rules to implement the law
- Allow people to hold regulated entities accountable for violations
- Provide additional consumer protections, including the right to access or delete personal data
- Include a No-Preemptive Clause to Allow States to Further Protect Reproductive and Sexual Health Privacy
Supervisor Joel Anderson was the only person to vote against the resolution.
“This bill does not affect Californians and I am not representing people in other states,” he explained in an email.
Although he has opposed previous abortion rights-related measures, the regulator’s statement said, “This data, and indeed anyone’s personal data, should be shared with companies unless authorized to do so. I believe not,” he said, which is why he supported the resolution. office.
In response to recent laws restricting abortion rights in states like Texas, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, the Democrats on the committee have supported several reproductive liberties. approved the measures.
In May, supervisors voted 3 to 1 to consider increasing reproductive health services in the county and support a California constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion rights. Last September, they voted him 3-1 to declare the county a “reproductive freedom champion.”
City News Service contributed to this article.