Why Is Meta Removing Posts That Offer Help With Obtaining Abortion Pills?
Facebook and Instagram users have started using the platforms to help women gain access to abortion pills through the mail. Here's how Meta is responding.
June 28 2022, Published 12:24 p.m. ET
The Supreme Court’s move to overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked outrage across America. Because the decision stripped women of their constitutional right to an abortion, many are now left with few places to turn to for help. With many abortion clinics now shuttering, Facebook and Instagram users have started using the platforms to help women gain access to abortion pills through the mail.
But Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, isn’t having it. Instead, NPR says the tech giant is removing posts that offer this sort of help.
Social media is being flooded with ways women can obtain abortion pills, and Meta is cracking down.
While the U.S. has certainly progressed in many areas, it’s still a bit behind when it comes to women’s rights and gun control. The Supreme Court’s June 24 ruling is proof of that. With a woman’s reproductive rights now left in the hands of individual states, people around the country are stepping up to help those who don't wish to go through with their pregnancy.
Several Facebook and Instagram users have started using the platform to offer help to those living in states with trigger laws who aren't able to legally obtain abortion pills. Some are going as far as offering to purchase or forward abortion pills through the mail, reports NPR.
Unlike the posts that contain general information about abortion pills, it's those that aim to assist women in obtaining the medication that are being taken down almost immediately. To test Meta’s stringency, an AP reporter created two posts.
In one of the posts, the AP reporter allegedly wrote “If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills.” That post, NPR says, was taken down within a minute. The second post changed out the words “abortion pills” and replaced them with “a gun.” Oddly enough, that post was left alone.
Meta’s Andy Stone explains the type of content that's acceptable when it comes to abortion pills and what it won’t tolerate.
After Meta’s actions were brought to the media’s attention, its communications director, Andy Stone, took to Twitter to address the matter. You’ll find his tweet down below.
Although Stone attempted to clear the air, it appears the company is picking and choosing the posts it targets as a violation of policy.
The “we will adopt your baby” sign is also generating significant criticism following the June 24 ruling.
Outside of the Supreme Court building (on June 24) stood many holding signs that read “We will adopt your baby.” While the idea behind the sign was to give a woman wanting an abortion hope that there were families out there with open arms willing to take in their child, the message came across differently.
According to Twitter user Rebecca LaMonte, she “hated those signs held by smiling couples.” In her tweet, LaMonte also shared “in my crisis pregnancy, knowing that people would gladly take the baby away from me but not help me keep it was worse than the pressure to abort.”
