Page 4 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 19, 2024 Malden delegation joins Mass. House to unanimously pass bill to protect privacy of individuals seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care Bill prohibits sale of reproductive and gender-affi rming care location information from cellphones O n Wednesday, July 10, 2024, State Representatives Steve Ultrino (D-Malden) and Paul Donato (D-Medford) and the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed a version of legislation by State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D-Melrose) to protect the privacy of individuals seeking reproductive and gender-affi rming care by prohibiting the sale of cellphone data collected during visits to health care facilities in Massachusetts that off er those services. Having passed the House, An Act providing protections for reproductive or gender-affi rming care location information now goes to the Senate for its consideration. “To ensure the protections for patients, providers, and their families established by this Legislature truly exist, it is essential that we likewise protect digital footprints of those seeking, receiving, and providing abortion and gender-affi rming care,” said Representative Lipper-Garabedian. “This legislation is the fi rst step in providing that protection at a time when more than twenty state legislatures have banned or severely restricted access to abortion and gender-affi rming care. I am immensely grateful for the continued leadership and commitment to protecting reproductive health from Speaker Mariano and Chairman Michlewitz in ensuring that Massachusetts remains a beacon of hope and a place of refuge for those seeking compassion, safety, and liberty in their lives.” “By passing this vital legislation, this ensures the Commonwealth’s commitment to proLawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net Saving Should Be Easy. Everett Bank’s 24-Month CD Makes It Simple. Get a worry-free 5.0% APY 24-Month CD, the perfect solution to build your savings and watch it grow. 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Member FDIC | Member DIF Paul Donato State Representative tecting the privacy of patients traveling to Massachusetts to receive care,” said Representative Donato. “I would like to thank Representative Lipper-Garabedian and my House Colleagues for taking the lead in prioritizing the passage of this bill.” “With this legislation, the Commonwealth will continue its promise to provide safe and accessible reproductive care to all who seek it,” said Representative Ultrino. “Massachusetts has always been a leader in protecting and expanding access to reproductive health care as well as safeguarding the rights and privacy of patients and providers alike. This bill will see us continue this commitment while other states move to ban and restrict rights to reproductive health care. I am truly grateful to House leadership and all my colKate Lipper-Garabedian State Representative leagues for supporting these reforms, and particularly to Representative Lipper-Garabedian for her hard work and commitment to this issue.” Currently, data brokers can sell data tracking the location of cellphone users. Following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, news outlets reported that location data fi rms were selling location information related to patients’ visits to Planned Parenthood facilities, which could then be used to target and harass those individuals and providers. The bill passed by the House seeks to protect the privacy of patients by prohibiting companies from collecting and processing an individual’s reproductive or gender-affi rming care location information unless it’s for a permissible purSteven Ultrino State Representative pose, such as a response to an emergency service agency, or if the individual was provided with a location privacy policy and subsequently granted consent to such policy. The Attorney General would issue regulations related to this law, such as location privacy policies and consent, and have the authority to enforce it under Chapter 93A. “We know that purchasing location data to target Planned Parenthood patients or providers is part of the anti-abortion playbook, not just in restrictive states but everywhere,” said Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts President/CEO Dominique Lee. “Now is the time to strengthen data privacy so that cellphone location data cannot be used to target DELEGATION | SEE PAGE 5
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