Michigan health data bills to censor pro-life resources, critics say

Democratic state Rep. Mai Xiong introduced a bill last week to require online software to secure informed consent before obtaining and retaining a user’s reproductive health data. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow already introduced an identical bill to the state Senate days after the 2024 general election, nearly a week before Xiong presented her copy to the House.

The proposed legislation would require users to give clear and specific consent about what data is collected and how it is used. The measures would also bar online services from using data for purposes beyond what users approved. Xiong specifically noted the importance of keeping data private from online purveyors of family planning services in a press release last Friday. Everyone has a right to privacy in healthcare and Michiganders should be allowed to research their reproductive options in peace, she said.

The pro-life group Right to Life of Michigan described both bills as dangerous, claiming the measures were designed to stifle pro-life messaging. The proposed consent requirements would prevent pregnancy centers from obtaining information in time to provide women carrying unplanned pregnancies with options beyond abortion, the group said. The verbiage of both bills aimed to protect abortion facilities and suggested pro-life resources deceive users, Right to Life added.

What is so controversial about laws that require informed consent? The measures’ fine print overshoots user privacy and intentionally shields pregnant women from pro-life messaging, the group alleged. Right to Life specifically alluded to the bills’ specifications on geofencing, technology that uses location data to create virtual boundaries to interact with users based on their physical proximity. Geofencing is commonly used in modern marketing and allows an application to advertise sales or events pertinent to a user based on his or her location.

Both bills include a section banning geofences from being used within 1,850 feet of an abortion facility. The law would legally block the online distribution of pro-life resources to any woman within nearly 2,000 feet of an abortion facility, according to Right to Life. Such a sweeping measure would seriously impact facilities in crowded urban areas, Right to Life noted.

The data bills are only one of several changes the state’s Democratic legislators are pushing to enact before Republicans take the majority in January. State Rep. Rachel Hood introduced a bill to alter the state’s sex education curriculum the same day Xiong introduced the data bill. Hood’s proposed legislation would make teachers add resources on how and where to get abortions when teaching sex ed in public schools. Teachers would also be required to inform students about all FDA-approved birth control, and forced to acquaint students with the concepts of sexual orientation and various types of non-traditional sexual relationships.

Dig deeper: Read Grace Snell’s report in WORLD Magazine for more insight on how geofencing stifles pro-life activism online.