Creates provisions relating to the use of reproductive or sexual health application information
HB703 creates a new section of Missouri law governing “health digital services,” defined as mobile apps or websites that collect reproductive or sexual health application information or other health information and use it to facilitate health services. The bill broadly covers information about reproductive health, menstrual cycle, fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, plans to conceive, sexual activity, and related inferences such as pregnancy status, hormone levels, birth control usage, and gender identity.
The bill prohibits a health digital service from sharing, selling, or using this information without the consumer’s affirmative consent for each instance. It also limits government access by barring state and local agencies, law enforcement, and peace officers from requiring disclosure of this information, except in narrow circumstances tied to criminal investigations that are not related to abortion law violations, pregnancy outcome determinations, out-of-state health care, or gender-transition care.
HB703 would add privacy protections to Missouri’s Chapter 191 by creating a new statutory framework for reproductive and sexual health data collected through apps and websites. It would impose consent requirements on digital health platforms and restrict government entities from compelling disclosure of such data, while carving out limited exceptions for certain criminal investigations. The bill would affect health app developers, digital health companies, consumers, and public agencies that seek access to sensitive health-related information.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded sentiment from legislative proceedings in the provided materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears aimed at strengthening privacy protections for sensitive health data, which suggests a consumer-privacy and reproductive-health-protection orientation. However, without discussion or votes, support or opposition cannot be reliably characterized from the record provided.
The main points of potential contention are the scope of the protected information and the limits on government access. The bill explicitly includes data that could reveal pregnancy outcomes, sexual activity, birth control use, and gender identity, which may raise concerns about breadth and compliance for digital platforms. Another likely point of dispute is the exception structure: the bill allows disclosure for certain criminal investigations but bars use of the information to determine whether someone obtained care in another state, the outcome of a pregnancy, or whether a person sought gender-transition care. Those carveouts suggest possible tension between privacy advocates, law enforcement interests, and opponents concerned about abortion-related or gender-affirming-care enforcement.