The Digital Implications of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade (1973) judgment on 24th June 2022. ?Roe v. Wade ?case guaranteed abortion as a constitutionally protected right. Now, the power to regulate abortion returns to state governments. As many as 26 states are reportedly likely to ban abortions, with many “trigger bans” likely coming into effect immediately after the ruling.

Criminalizing abortions is one of the biggest barriers to safe abortion access, driving women to resort to underground and often life threatening procedures. But reduced?reproductive access in the digital age has also festered into concerns of privacy. Post Dobbs, privacy activists fear that governments may use sensitive information? such as data about menstrual cycles and reproductive health from period-tracking apps, search histories, and even text messages to identify and penalize women who seek out abortions.?

?Applications such as Clue and Flo are used by menstruators around the world to track their menstrual health and cycles including ovulation, menstruation, pre and post menstrual symptoms, PCOD etc.?

The problem arises when a major chunk of revenue for most companies comes from sharing user data, This data is also used for targeted advertising. In 2021 the popular app Flo faced a complaint alleging disclosure of sensitive health information, such as the fact of a user's pregnancy, to third parties in the form of “app events,” which is app data transferred to third parties for various reasons. Post Dobbs, privacy activists and women’s rights groups fear that this data will now be available and used by state authorities as well, as has been the case with text messages previously.?

In 2015,? Purvi Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Indiana after being accused of feticide and child neglect, after allegedly inducing her own abortion. She had told doctors at the emergency room that it was a miscarriage resulting in stillbirth. The prosecution used text messages between her and a friend discussing an order for medication to induce an abortion, as evidence against her.?

In a? post Dobbs world, period-tracking apps can similarly be forced to hand over data to law enforcement authorities, in case the information indicates that a user has had an abortion, the companies and the user could be summoned. This has led to many warning people who menstruate to delete these apps.? Both Clue and Flo have issued statements regarding their policies.

The overturning of Roe v Wade further underscores the need for tech companies to be aware of their own power, and a heightened importance of user privacy.?

The stark difference between a pre-Roe world, and a post Dobbs one, is that we now live in a world where we leave unprecedented digital footprints.?