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Democrats propose law to block firms collecting reproductive health data amid post-Roe surveillance fears
Three Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill to restrict companies from collecting or sharing reproductive health data, in response to growing concerns over digital surveillance following the fall of Roe v Wade.
The “my body, my data” bill was introduced in both the US House and Senate and aims to prohibit businesses from collecting, using, retaining or disclosing information about reproductive health unless that data is essential to providing a requested service.
The proposed law targets data related to pregnancy, abortion, contraception, menstruation and other reproductive health matters.
It was filed on Wednesday by Representative Sara Jacobs of California, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The move comes as law enforcement officials increasingly attempt to use digital trails to identify people seeking abortions since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022.
Jacobs said: “Young people live our lives online, right?
“That includes tracking our periods, but it also includes our phones tracking our location and using Google to think about your medical care or how to obtain an abortion for yourself or a friend, or ordering abortion pills online, or using an Uber to travel to an abortion clinic.
“All of those things are tracked online, and none of those are protected right now.”
Law enforcement has already accessed reproductive health data in several high-profile cases.
In 2022, Nebraska authorities filed felony and misdemeanour charges against a teenager and her mother over an abortion, using Facebook chats handed over by the social media company.
Both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to time in prison.
In 2023, anti-abortion activists used mobile phone location data to send targeted messages to individuals who had visited some Planned Parenthood clinics.
More recently, in May, a Texas police officer searched tens of automatic number plate reader cameras across multiple states – including those where abortion remains legal – while investigating a suspected self-managed abortion.
The post-Roe environment has created more opportunities for surveillance.
In recent years, online orders for abortion pills have increased, with tens of thousands more Americans using digital services to self-manage abortions.
A number of women have also faced criminal charges over miscarriages, raising concerns among reproductive rights advocates that online activity – such as searching for abortion information – could be used as evidence against them.
Wyden said: “It doesn’t deal with everything in terms of data brokers, but it does put women in a much stronger position to protect their rights.
“Reproductive rights are the ultimate privacy priority, because the fundamental right of a woman to control her own body and her own healthcare is as private as it gets.”
An earlier version of the bill was introduced in 2023. With Republicans currently holding the majority in Congress, the legislation is unlikely to pass.
Jacobs said: “I have many Republican colleagues who say they care about data privacy.
“We work together on data privacy in every other area, but when it comes to anything abortion-related, they refuse to do it.
“This is also the third oldest Congress in history, and I’ll be honest, many of my colleagues don’t understand how period-tracking apps or website searches or location data even work.”
Jacobs said she uses a period-tracking app run by a European company subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation – a legal framework that governs how businesses collect and use personal data.
While no similar protections exist at the federal level in the US, Washington state in 2023 became the first in the country to pass a state law – the My Health, My Data Act – covering health data not protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The law requires companies to provide privacy disclosures, seek user authorisation before selling personal data, and allows Washington residents to request that their data be deleted.
Jacobs advises people to choose apps based in states with stronger protections for reproductive health data.
She added: “If you live in a state that is really criminalising abortion and going after people, you should be careful about what you put online.”
Transdermal HRT best protects bone density in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea, a condition that stops periods, a review of trials has found.
The meta-analysis pooled randomised clinical trials involving 692 participants and found transdermal hormone replacement therapy and teriparatide increased bone mineral density by between 2 and 13 per cent.
Functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea can follow anorexia or intense exercise. Bone mineral density measures bone strength and the amount of mineral in bone.
Around half of women with the condition have low bone mineral density, compared with about 1 per cent of healthy women, and their fracture risk is up to seven times higher.
The research was conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
Professor Alexander Comninos, senior author of the study and consultant endocrinologist at the trust, said: “Bone density is lost very rapidly in FHA and so addressing bone health early is very important to reduce the lifelong risk of fractures.
“Our study provides much needed comparisons of all the available treatments from all available studies.
“Clearly the best treatment is to restore normal menstrual cycles and therefore oestrogen levels through various psychological, nutritional or exercise interventions – but that is not always possible.
“The foundation for bone health is good calcium and vitamin D intake (through diet and/or supplements) but we have additional treatments that are more effective.”
When FHA is diagnosed, clinicians first try to restore periods through lifestyle measures, including psychological and dietary support, but these can fail. Guidelines then recommend giving oestrogen, though the best form was unclear.
The team reviewed all prior randomised trials comparing therapies, including oral and transdermal oestrogen, and also assessed teriparatide, a prescription bone-building drug used for severe osteoporosis.
They found no significant benefit for oral contraceptive pills or oral hormone therapy.
A recent UK audit reported that about a quarter of women with anorexia-related FHA are prescribed the oral contraceptive pill for bone loss; the study suggests using transdermal therapy instead.
Comninos said: “Our goal is simple: to help women receive the right treatment sooner and to protect their bone health in the long-term.
“We hope this study provides clinicians with better evidence to choose transdermal oestrogen when prescribing oestrogen and so inform future practice guidelines.
“Right now, millions of women with FHA may not be receiving the best treatments for their bone health.”
An AI tool cut interval breast cancers by 12 per cent in a Swedish screening trial of more than 105,000 women.
The study also found 27 per cent fewer aggressive breast cancers detected at screening when AI was used.
Interval cancers are cancers found between routine screening appointments because they were missed at the original scan. They are often more dangerous and linked to higher death rates than cancers found at screening.
The MASAI trial is described as the first large randomised study to test whether AI can improve mammography screening, which uses low-dose X-rays to examine breast tissue for signs of cancer.
The AI tool, called Transpara Detection and developed by ScreenPoint Medical, supported radiologists in analysing mammography images.
Earlier results from the same trial showed that Transpara Detection increased cancers found by 29 per cent and reduced radiologist workload by 44 per cent compared with standard double-reading, where two radiologists independently review each scan.
The latest findings indicate higher accuracy with AI support. Sensitivity, the ability to detect cancer, was 6.7 percentage points higher in the AI group while specificity, the ability to rule out healthy cases, was maintained. Results were similar across age groups and breast density levels.
Women screened with AI had 16 per cent fewer invasive interval cancers and 21 per cent fewer large interval cancers than those in the standard screening group.
The system also helps doctors assess risk more precisely by subdividing suspicious findings into BI-RADS 4 categories A, B and C. BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) is a standardised scale that guides whether a patient needs closer monitoring, further tests or treatment.
Ageing anxiety may accelerate biological ageing in women, with fears about worsening health linked to faster epigenetic ageing, according to new research.
The study found that greater anxiety about growing old was associated with accelerated epigenetic ageing, as measured by the DunedinPACE clock, based on biological markers in blood samples.
Epigenetic changes are shifts in how genes are switched on or off without altering DNA itself, which can influence how the body ages and functions.
“Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of ageing,” said Mariana Rodrigues, a PhD student and the first author of the study.
“Ageing-related anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences.”
Researchers analysed data from 726 women in the Midlife in the US study.
Participants were asked how much they worried about becoming less attractive with age, having more health issues and being too old to have children.
Blood samples were used to assess ageing with two epigenetic clocks: DunedinPACE, which estimates the pace of biological ageing, and GrimAge2, which estimates cumulative biological damage.
The study was conducted by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health.
Worrying about declining health showed the strongest links with epigenetic ageing, while anxiety about attractiveness and fertility was not significantly associated with biological markers.
The authors suggest health worries are more common and persist over time, whereas concerns about appearance and reproduction may fade with age.
“Women in midlife may also be multiple in roles, including caring for their ageing parents,” Rodrigues said.
“As they see older family members grow older and become sick, they may worry about whether the same thing will happen to them.”
The authors caution that the study offers a snapshot in time and other factors may influence these biological changes.
When analyses were adjusted for health behaviours such as smoking and alcohol use, the link between ageing anxiety and epigenetic ageing decreased and was no longer significant.
“Our research identifies ageing anxiety as a measurable and modifiable psychological determinant that seems to be shaping ageing biology,” said Adolfo Cuevas, associate professor of social and behavioural sciences and the study’s senior author.
They call for more research to clarify how this anxiety influences ageing over time, to guide support for those experiencing ageing anxiety.
“Ageing is a universal experience.” Rodrigues said.
“We need to start a discourse about how we as a society, through our norms, structural factors and interpersonal relationships, address the challenges of ageing.”
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