For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Report Details Surveillance Threats To Abortion, Gender-Affirming Care Travel
(New York, NY, 07/18/23) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, released Roadblock to Care: Barriers to Out of State Travel for Abortion and Gender Affirming Care, detailing surveillance of patients seeking out-of-state abortions and gender-affirming care. The report comes as the Dobbs decision, state abortion bans, and growing persecution of gender-affirming care push ever more Americans to seek care out of state. Alarmingly, patients face growing risk from states that are seeking to punish patients who leave the state to find care. The report details how law enforcement can track travel and the safest forms of transit and accommodation.
SEE: S.T.O.P. Report - Roadblock to Care: Barriers to Out of State Travel for Abortion and Gender Affirming Care
https://www.stopspying.org/roadblock-to-care
“Surveillance doesn’t stop at the state line,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Even as progressive states seek to protect abortion and gender-affirming care within our borders, anti-choice states are continuing to expand the threat that they will prosecute residents who leave the state to find evidence-based medical treatment. It’s crucial for patients to understand the ways that their movements can be tracked by law enforcement, even out of state. And progressive lawmakers and travel companies must take urgent steps to protect the right to travel anonymously and safely. Until we do, every hotel reservation and bridge toll will be just one subpoena away from being used against a patient in court.”
“There’s no such thing as the open road anymore. No matter how healthcare seekers travel, they are likely to be surveilled,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis. “But there are relatively safer ways to travel—especially for individuals not already targeted by law enforcement. Our report offers a breakdown of the surveillance risks posed by different forms of transit and accommodations. Meanwhile, it’s up to lawmakers and companies to prevent surveillance data from being weaponized against healthcare seekers. Right now, it’s far too easy to track these travelers: for example, using one databroker’s platform, S.T.O.P. located the homes of some visitors to an Illinois abortion clinic across the river in Missouri, where abortion is banned.”
SEE: Fast Company - Abortion surveillance tech could create an American refugee crisis
https://www.fastcompany.com/90771921/abortion-surveillance-tech-american-refugee-crisis
Albany Times Union - Commentary: A victory for trans rights, but still more to do
https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/commentary-victory-trans-rights-still-18172907.php
Key Findings Include:
- License plate readers, street cameras, ticket information, and more can be used by law enforcement and state officials to track and identify individuals seeking, facilitating, or providing out-of-state healthcare;
- Law enforcement agencies can weaponize data that is already commercially available and are able to purchase data gathered from sources like hotels and smartphones on healthcare seekers;
- Some forms of travel are more protected from invasive surveillance practices than others, allowing those traveling out-of-state for healthcare in the U.S. to mitigate tracking and protect their privacy.
Last year, S.T.O.P. released Pregnancy Panopticon: Abortion Surveillance After Roe shortly after the Dobbs decision was leaked. The report outlined how even before Roe fell, abortion seekers were already being tracked through electronic surveillance, including their internet search histories, text messages, and smartphone-derived location data. This report warned that the surveillance threat against healthcare seekers was likely to expand, which is evident in Roadblock to Care: Barriers to Out of State Travel for Abortion and Gender Affirming Care.
SEE: S.T.O.P. Report - Pregnancy Panopticon: Abortion Surveillance After Roe
https://www.stopspying.org/pregnancy-panopticon
CNN - Your Phone Could Be Used Against You In An Abortion Case
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/16/politics/abortion-data-what-matters/index.html
NBC News - Families with trans kids are increasingly forced to travel out of state for health care
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/families-trans-kids-are-increasingly-forced-travelstate-health-care-rcna93388
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn
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