Facebook and Instagram are hiding vital, fact-based information about abortion pills – and we won’t stand for it.
As Texans braced for one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country to go into effect, Facebook subsidiary Instagram hid access to the hashtags for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol, keeping vital information about a safe, effective abortion method out of the hands of those that need it.
This happened on Facebook as well. When questioned, Facebook told reporters the tags were blocked in error, yet Instagram is continuing to limit access to the hashtags, claiming some content may not meet community guidelines. [1] Instagram also started removing posts related to abortion pills, again claiming these posts about vital medical information may not meet their community guidelines.
This suppression of information has continued: Just last week, Facebook removed our graphics on how to self-manage abortions with pills, claiming we violated their Community Standards all while they continue to promote paid ads for the anti-abortion, unscientific theory of “abortion pill reversal.”
At a time when more people are turning to abortion pills as a method of care, and as coronavirus cases continue to surge, Facebook and Instagram have shown that their priority is not the safety and empowerment of people seeking abortions. Instead, Facebook and Instagram frequently cave to anti-abortion activists, allowing them to spread misinformation about abortion pills and so-called “abortion pill reversal” freely. [2]
It’s time to take a stand: sign our petition now to tell Facebook and Instagram that censoring vital, fact-based medical information about abortion pills is unacceptable. Facebook and Instagram should not be able to hide information about an extremely common, safe, and unstoppable abortion method from their users.
Sources:
[1] https://www.dailydot.com/debug/facebook-instagram-block-posts-abortion-pills-texas-law/
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/02/20/facebook-republican-shift/