debate in the United States
Supreme Court rules: Facebook and Instagram remove offers of abortion pills
Misoprostol is an abortion drug – offers of the drug have been deleted on Facebook
© Victor R. Caivano / Picture Alliance
On Facebook and Instagram, users have offered to send abortion pills to women. However, in some cases, the posts have been deleted.
The Supreme Court’s decision will change the United States: On Friday, the US Supreme Court with its conservative majority overturned abortion rights that had applied in the United States for almost half a century. This paves the way for stricter abortion laws – even outright bans.
After the Supreme Court ruling, the demand for ways to terminate pregnancies without medical intervention increased. This is possible with abortion pills, for example. According to reports from the AP news agency and the “Vice” portal, the social networks Facebook and Instagram began deleting such offers from their platforms immediately after the court’s decision.
Facebook and Instagram delete posts
The posts were aimed at women living in US states where the Supreme Court made a landmark decision that bans abortion. These include Arkansas, Kentucky or Louisiana. In around half of the states, abortion is now likely to be severely restricted or banned within a few months. Users offered to mail abortion pills to women in those states. However, some of these posts have been removed from Facebook and Instagram.
This was also confirmed by an AP reporter’s test: His Facebook post in which he offered to mail abortion pills was deleted after a minute – “for violating standards on “weapons, animals and other regulated goods”. A Vice reporter’s Facebook account was suspended for 24 hours for such a post. When marijuana or guns were offered for shipment, Facebook didn’t respond, the AP reports.
Discussions about abortion banned at Meta
Andy Stone, spokesman for parent company Meta, wrote on Twitter that the company’s platforms will still not be allowed to give away or sell medicines. However, information on how to obtain abortion pills should be allowed. Stone also acknowledged that the rule has not always been correctly implemented: “We have identified some instances of misenforcement and are correcting them.”
Meta has banned its own employees from discussing abortion in the workplace. One wants to avoid “a hostile working environment”, quoted the “New York Times” in a report. If abortion were “openly discussed”, it could lead to “considerable disturbances in the workplace”.
Sources: AP / “vice” / Andy Stone on Twitter / “New York Times”