Abortion-Rights States Begin Shielding Digital Data Near Clinics

States positioning themselves as abortion safe havens are beginning to shield location information that can be gleaned from mobile phones, and to protect the privacy of other data that can show who is visiting a health-care facility.

Beginning this summer, Washington, Connecticut, and New York are establishing first-of-their-kind data privacy safeguards for health-related information, in part to prevent anti-abortion groups from targeting people who terminate their pregnancies. A similar Nevada law will take effect next March.

Other states, led by California, are passing or proposing measures that aim to limit out-of-state law enforcement agencies access to certain kinds of data ...