Kate Huntress - Department of Women’s Health
The article “Monitoring Female Fertility Through ‘FemTech’: The Need for a Whole-System Approach to Regulation” defines FemTech as technology that focuses on women’s health, including software, diagnostics, products, and services. The prominent aspect of this market is the development of apps that track female fertility, menstruation, and aid in contraception. While these health-tracking apps offer benefits to many women, questions arise regarding their regulation, particularly related to bias integration and inaccurate predictions.
To address these concerns, regulation is necessary from multiple perspectives. Taking a feminist lens is crucial as FemTech is influenced by societal contexts and significantly impacts users within their social environments. For example, the introduction of menstrual-cycle tracking in Apple Watches’ health feature was driven by feminist concerns as Apple initially lacked a period tracking option. However, apps often make generalized assumptions about factors like period length, leading to inaccurate predictions of fertile windows. Moreover, the profit-driven nature of cycle tracking apps contributes to the idea of women’s health processes being reduced to data points, potentially undermining the personal nature of their choices. The second aspect requiring regulation is the inaccuracy of FemTech due to implicit bias. Studies show that none of the tested period tracking apps accurately predict ovulation, leading to unintended pregnancies. This questionable reliability is partly because very few tracking apps cite medical data or recognize variations that stem from the diversity of the user base.
While our roles as users may seem unclear, being mindful of the implications of the technology we invest in and advocating for proper regulation are important first steps. Ultimately, a comprehensive approach is necessary to ensure efficacy and ethical practices in Fem Tech and contribute to the advancement of women’s healthcare.
References
McMillan, C. (2022). OUP accepted manuscript. Medical Law Review. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwac006
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