In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the criminalization of abortion in many states has heightened the privacy risks associated with digital reproductive health data. Technological advancements and surveillance capitalism enable unprecedented collection, storage, and sharing of sensitive health information, increasing the vulnerability of individuals seeking reproductive care. Current federal and state privacy laws are inadequate, leaving significant gaps that can result in chilling effects on reproductive health care access and disparate impacts on marginalized communities. To address these privacy gaps, this Note proposes an evidentiary privilege that would protect digital reproductive health data from being used in abortion-related civil and criminal proceedings. Grounded in the theory of contextual integrity, this privilege would adapt to evolving technological practices and encompass a broad range of data that could reveal one’s reproductive health status. To ensure comprehensive protection, this Note advocates for the adoption of this privilege at both state and federal levels, supplemented by efforts to pass comprehensive consumer privacy statutes and state-by-state abortion law reform. This integrated approach offers robust safeguards for digital reproductive health data in an increasingly hostile post-Dobbs legal environment.
Author
J.D. Candidate, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, 2026; B.S., University of California, Los Angeles, 2020. The Author thanks Professor Matthew Kugler for an excellent course that sparked the ideas underlying this Note. She is also grateful to the members of the Northwestern University Law Review who generously workshopped earlier drafts, and to the editors of the Northwestern University Law Review Online, whose thoughtful feedback and careful editing shaped this piece into its final form. Finally, she thanks her partner, Chris, whose unwavering kindness and support carried her through law school.