Facebook, Instagram Remove Posts For Abortion Pills As Demand Jumps
Facebook is issuing warnings that the postings violate its standards on “guns, animals and other regulated goods.” Meanwhile, Hey Jane, an abortion pill delivery company, told Newsweek that patient demand has more than doubled since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
AP:
Instagram And Facebook Remove Posts Offering Abortion Pills
Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure. Such social media posts ostensibly aimed to help women living in states where preexisting laws banning abortion suddenly snapped into effect on Friday. That’s when the high court overruled Roe v. Wade, its 1973 decision that declared access to abortion a constitutional right. (Seitz, 6/28)
Newsweek:
Abortion Pill Provider Say Demand Soaring Since Roe V. Wade Overturn
An abortion pill delivery company has told Newsweek it has seen a sharp rise in interest following the U.S. Supreme Court's reversal of the Roe V. Wade on June 24. ... "Following the Supreme Court's decision on Friday, June 24, Hey Jane's site traffic grew almost 10 times and patient demand more than doubled compared to the last month's average," company CEO Kiki Freedman told Newsweek. (Browne, 6/29)
USA Today:
Demand For Telemedicine Abortions Increases But Could Face Legal Challenges Post-Roe
Interest in telemedicine abortion – whether measured by Google searches or calls to virtual clinics – has skyrocketed in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, which removed the constitutional protection for abortion and cleared the way for restrictions or bans to take effect in numerous states. Searches for the term “online abortion” went from a search volume of one on Google Trends at 8 a.m. Friday, to 100 at 11 a.m. Those numbers are ratios of the search term’s popularity, indicating it went from nearly zero interest to peak interest in a few hours surrounding the decision. (Wedell, 6/29)
Newsweek:
Arizona Republican Eyes Ban On Abortion Pills Over Lack Of Supervision
Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said she supports closing abortion clinics and banning abortion pills. Lake made the comments in response to questioning from Fox News' Bret Baier during an interview on Monday, three days after the U.S. Supreme Court released a ruling that overturns the nearly 50-year-old decision of Roe v. Wade that protected a pregnant woman's right to an abortion. (Mordowanec, 6/28)
The Cut:
Where To Find The Abortion Pill And What To Expect
Multiple organizations now provide abortions pills via the mail and ship nationwide for arrival in anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. There are even options if you live in a state that bans abortion, though self-managing may carry legal risks. Here is the rundown on the most trusted providers. (Grant, 6/28)
Pill seekers in Brazil have turned to drug traffickers for help —
The New York Times:
When Brazil Banned Abortion Pills, Women Turned To Drug Traffickers
Last November, Xaiana, a 23-year-old college student in northern Brazil, began exchanging text messages with a drug dealer in the south of the country. Following the dealer’s instructions, she transferred 1,500 reais ($285), her living expenses for several months. Then, she waited three agonizing weeks for the arrival in the mail of a blister pack of eight unmarked white pills. (Nolen, 6/28)
CVS loosens restrictions on Plan B contraceptive pills —
CNBC:
CVS To Remove Purchase Limit On Plan B Pills, Says Sales Have 'Returned To Normal'
CVS is removing the purchase limit it had put on emergency contraceptive pills following last week’s Supreme Court ruling, the chain said Tuesday. The reversal comes as sales have dipped back to normal levels and will be made both in stores and online over the next 24 hours, CVS said. The limit on the emergency contraceptives, commonly known as morning after pills and sold under names including Plan B, had gone into effect on Saturday. (Krietzberg, 6/28)
Concerns grow about Internet surveillance —
Fortune:
After Roe, Concerns Mount Over A.I.-Enabled Surveillance
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, digital privacy advocates advised women to delete popular menstrual cycle tracking apps, turn off location sharing across a host of apps, use encrypted messaging apps, and switch to web browsers that don’t store search histories, such as Duck Duck Go. The fear is that with as many as half of U.S. states poised to criminalize abortion, prosecutors will start turning to such data to bring cases against those who have sought to end a pregnancy. Such data could also be used by private citizens hoping to collect bounties for tipping off the government to those violating anti-abortion laws or hoping to bring private lawsuits against women seeking abortions and those who have aided them, as laws in Texas and Oklahoma allow. There is a growing concern about the role A.I. could play in this digital dragnet. (Kahn, 6/28)
AP:
EXPLAINER: Abortion, Tech And Surveillance
With abortion now or soon to be illegal in over a dozen states and severely restricted in many more, Big Tech companies that vacuum up personal details of their users are facing new calls to limit that tracking and surveillance. One fear is that law enforcement or vigilantes could use those data troves against people seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. History has repeatedly demonstrated that whenever people’s personal data is tracked and stored, there’s always a risk that it could be misused or abused. With the Supreme Court’s Friday overruling of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, collected location data, text messages, search histories, emails and seemingly innocuous period and ovulation-tracking apps could be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion — or medical care for a miscarriage — as well as those who assist them. (Ortutay, 6/28)
