June 1, 2022

The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Democratic Senate Majority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Amy Klobuchar
Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee
on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights
425 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Leader Schumer and Chairwoman Klobuchar,

As an organization that has committed itself to the goal of eliminating health disparities through evidence-based, data-driven initiatives and community-based advocacy programs, we write to you with concerns raised by the health advocacy community about data privacy threats in the aftermath of the recent Roe v. Wade ruling.

For nearly 25 years, the National Minority Quality Forum has worked with communities, policymakers, and health care innovators to address the fundamental challenges in access to care in underserved communities. As Senate leaders with a respected record advocating for women’s health and health outcomes in disadvantaged communities, we ask for your support in seeing to it that any health records legislation–or technology legislation with health implications–being considered before the Senate, include robust data privacy protections.

The recent disclosure of a draft opinion on Roe v. Wade has placed us at the nexus between abortion and data privacy. As the Senate prepares for floor consideration of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act under your leadership, we wanted to engage you in a constructive dialogue in the hopes of remedying concerns that data sourced from technology platforms could be manipulated or weaponized against women and doctors engaged in reproductive health care. This very issue was raised in a May 24 letter from Senator Ron Wyden along with 41 members of the House and Senate to Google.

In the absence of the Senate Judiciary Committee holding a hearing that would’ve allowed for a comprehensive examination of cybersecurity, privacy, and health record concerns related to the bill, we now ask that you use whatever additional time you have before floor consideration to bolster privacy protections in the American Innovation and Choice Online Act before bringing S. 2992 to the floor for a vote.

Failing to fully and responsibly put in place ample privacy protections could have an adverse impact on millions of women. We thank you for your consideration in this request, and offer ourselves as a resource should you have any questions regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gary A. Puckrein
President & Chief Executive Officer
National Minority Quality Forum

View the PDF