Opinion: The end of Roe means we’ll be criminalised for more of our data

Abortion rights demonstrators leave banners at a fence outside of the US Supreme Court in Washington DC on May 14, 2022. — AFP

Our phones know more about us than our families and friends do. They know what we watch, what we’ve searched for and whom we’ve emailed, not just recently but stretching back months and years. The leak of a draft opinion indicating the Supreme Court’s intent to overturn Roe v. Wade raises huge concerns for how online searches, text messages and emails can be used to target and criminalise pregnant people seeking abortion care and support.

Digital autonomy and bodily autonomy are inextricably linked. Just as we need the right to ownership and control over our bodies, we should have the same over our data. But this has not been the case.