[[link removed]]

SHE GOT AN ABORTION. A TEXAS COP USED 83K CAMERAS TO TRACK HER DOWN
 
[[link removed]]


 

Rindala Alajaji
May 30, 2025
Electronic Frontier Foundation
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Lawmakers who support reproductive rights must recognize that
abortion access and mass surveillance are incompatible. Systems built
to track stolen cars and issue parking tickets have morphed into
today’s reproductive dragnet. _

,

 

In a chilling sign of how far law enforcement surveillance has
encroached on personal liberties, _404 Media _recently revealed
[[link removed]] that
a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than
83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR)
[[link removed]] cameras
to track down a woman suspected of self-managing an abortion. The
officer searched 6,809 different camera networks maintained by
surveillance tech company Flock Safety
[[link removed]],
including states where abortion access is protected by law, such as
Washington and Illinois. The search record listed the reason plainly:
“had an abortion, search for female.”

screenshot_2025-05-30_at_11.08.40_am.png
[[link removed]]

[Screenshot of data]

_Screenshot of data_

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 _Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s
Health Organization_ decision overturned _Roe v. Wade_, states were
given sweeping authority to ban and even criminalize abortion. In
Texas—where the officer who conducted this search is
based—abortion is now almost entirely banned
[[link removed]].
But in Washington
[[link removed]] and Illinois
[[link removed]],
where many of the searched Flock cameras are located, abortion remains
legal and protected as a fundamental right up to fetal viability.

The post-_Dobbs_ legal landscape has also opened the door for law
enforcement to exploit virtually any form of data—license plates
[[link removed]], phone
records
[[link removed]], geolocation
data
[[link removed]]—to
pursue individuals across state lines. EFF’s _Atlas of
Surveillance_
[[link removed]] has
documented more than 1,800 agencies have deployed ALPRs, but at
least 4,000 agencies
[[link removed]] are
able to run searches through some agencies in Flock's network. Many
agencies share the data freely with other agencies across the country,
with little oversight, restriction, or even standards for accessing
data. 

While this particular data point explicitly mentioned an abortion,
scores of others in the audit logs released through public records
requests simply list "investigation" as the reason for the plate
search, with no indication of the alleged offense. That means other
searches targeting someone for abortion, or another protected right in
that jurisdiction, could be effectively invisible.

This case underscores our growing concern: that the mass surveillance
infrastructure—originally sold as a tool to find stolen cars or
missing persons—is now being used to target people seeking
reproductive healthcare. This unchecked, warrant-less access
[[link removed]] that
allows law enforcement to surveil across state lines blurs the line
between “protection” and persecution.

FROM MISSING CARS TO MONITORING BODIES

EFF has long warned
[[link removed]] about
the dangers
[[link removed]] of
ALPRs
[[link removed]],
which scan license plates, log time and location data, and build a
detailed picture of people's movements. Companies like Flock Safety
and Motorola Solutions offer law enforcement agencies access to
nationwide databases of these readers, and in some cases, allow them
to stake out locations like abortion clinics, or create “hot
lists” of license plates to track in real time. Flock's technology
also allows officers to search for a vehicle based on attributes like
color, make and model, even without a plate number.

The threat is compounded by how investigations often begin. A report
published by If/When/How [[link removed]] on
the criminalization of self-managed abortion
[[link removed]] found
that about a quarter of adult cases (26%) were reported to law
enforcement by acquaintances entrusted with information, such as
“friends, parents, or intimate partners” and another 18% through
“other” means. This means that with ALPR tech, a tip from anyone
can instantly escalate into a nationwide manhunt. And as Kate Bertash
of the Digital Defense Fund
[[link removed]] explained to 404 Media,
anti-abortion activists have long been documenting the plates of
patients and providers who visit reproductive health facilities—data
that can now be easily cross-referenced with ALPR databases.

The 404 Media report
[[link removed]] proves
that this isn’t a hypothetical concern. In 2023, a months-long EFF
investigation involving hundreds of public records requests uncovered
that many California police departments were sharing records
[[link removed]] containing
detailed driving profiles of local residents with out-of-state
agencies, despite state
[[link removed]] laws
[[link removed]] explicitly
prohibiting this. This means that even in so-called “safe” states,
your data might end up helping law enforcement in Texas or Idaho
prosecute you—or your doctor. 

That’s why we demanded
[[link removed]] that
75 California police departments stop sharing ALPR data with
anti-abortion states, an effort that has largely been successful
[[link removed]].

SURVEILLANCE AND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM CANNOT COEXIST

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again
[[link removed]]:
Lawmakers who support reproductive rights must recognize that abortion
access and mass surveillance are incompatible. 

The systems built to track stolen cars and issue parking tickets have
become tools to enforce the most personal and politically charged laws
in the country. What began as a local concern over privacy has
escalated into a national civil liberties crisis.

Yesterday’s license plate readers have morphed into today’s
reproductive dragnet. Now, it’s time for decisive action. Our
leaders must roll back the dangerous surveillance systems they've
enabled. We must enact strong, enforceable state laws to limit data
sharing, ensure proper oversight, and dismantle these surveillance
pipelines before they become the new normal–or even just eliminate
the systems altogether.

* Reproductive rights
[[link removed]]
* abortion
[[link removed]]
* surveillance
[[link removed]]
* Digital Surveillance
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]