Attorney General Dana Nessel put out a consumer alert Wednesday urging Michiganders to protect their data when using period and fertility tracking apps.
While abortion remains legal in Michigan thanks to a preliminary injunction granted by a Michigan judge in May. Nessel says she’s concerned law enforcement could obtain a search warrant to gather evidence from a health app and use it as evidence against a woman who got an abortion.
“That’s the kind of thing that you think of when you think of drug dealers, or you think of human traffickers,” Nessel says.
Nessel says law enforcement should not be able to view private medical information to build a case against a woman who received an abortion illegally. She calls it an invasion of privacy that could scare not only women seeking an abortion, but couples trying to start a family.
“I have a lot of people that I see that are really terrified out there. I know a lot of couples that have actually been trying to conceive and they’re afraid to now. Because they don’t know, ‘what if I have a miscarriage, am I going to be investigated for that,’” Nessel continues. “It’s not the kind of thing you want to think of when it’s just you and your spouse and you’re trying to have a baby — and you’re keeping track of your menstrual cycle for that purpose — you don’t want it to be used against you in a criminal investigation.”
She says she hopes the people get to decide this upcoming election. The Reproductive Freedom For All will be submitting over 800,000 signatures on Monday to put the right to abortion on the state’s November ballot.
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