Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawmakers Push Google To Block Deceptive Abortion-Related Ads
WSET: Sen. Warner Presses Google On Ads Targeted To Users Searching For Abortion Services
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) wrote to Sundar Pichai – the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google – urging him to curb deceptive advertisements and ensure that users receive accurate information when searching for abortion services on the platform. This letter comes on the heels of an investigation that reveals how Google regularly fails to apply disclaimer labels to misleading ads by anti-abortion clinics. (Frolo, 11/22)
Bloomberg: Google Urged By US Lawmakers To Fix Misleading Abortion Ads
The lawmakers cited a joint analysis by Bloomberg News and the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which found that ads displayed against Google searches such as “Planned Parenthood,” “Plan C pills” and “pregnancy help” didn’t carry labels that would indicate whether an advertiser was an abortion provider. (Love, 11/22)
SC Media: Apple Urged To Address Privacy Gaps To Protect Reproductive Health Data
Ten state attorneys general are urging Apple to address possible gaps in the tech giant’s privacy protections to ensure consumers’ reproductive health data is secure from possible law enforcement or individual action, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling. The letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook is signed by attorneys general from California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, and follows earlier actions from lawmakers to Google, Apple, and other tech giants to protect the location data of users seeking abortions and other reproductive services. (Davis, 11/22)
Ars Technica: Sneaky Ways Cops Could Access Data To Widely Prosecute Abortions In The US
It's not clear yet what role tech companies will play in helping police access data to prosecute abortions in post-Roe America, but it has already become apparent that law enforcement is willing to be sneaky when seeking data. Cops revealed one potential tactic they could use back in June, when Meta faced scrutiny from reproductive rights activists for complying with a search warrant request from police in Madison County, Nebraska. The Nebraska cops told Meta they were investigating a crime under the state’s “Prohibited Acts with Skeletal Remains.” But what they were actually investigating was a case involving a woman, Jessica Burgess, who was suspected of aiding her 17-year-old daughter, Celeste Burgess, in procuring an unlawful abortion in the state at 23 weeks. (Belanger, 11/23)
In other news about reproductive health —
The Boston Globe: Supporters Of Abortion Rights In Kentucky Won In The Midterms. Now They Have To Win Again In The Courts
“We needed to both win the ballot and now we have to win in the courts, and luckily we can continue our fight in the courts because we won the ballot,” said Brigitte Amiri, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in the ongoing litigation, describing the battle to restore access as a “one-two step.” If the ballot measure had passed, the lawsuit would not have been able to continue. (Villa Huerta, 11/22)
NPR: Why Doctors Don't Openly Defy Abortion Laws, Even When Patients Are At Risk
"That's just nuts," Dr. Matthew Wynia says. He's a physician who directs the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado. "[A hysterotomy is] much more dangerous, much more risky – the woman may never have another pregnancy now because you're trying to avoid being accused of having conducted an abortion." (Risky, 11/23)
KHN: ‘An Arm And A Leg’: When Insurance Won’t Pay, Abortion Assistance Funds Step In
As Americans choose their insurance plans for next year, some might wonder: How does the recent rise in state abortion restrictions affect insurance plans? There’s no single answer, but for a lot of people, insurance has rarely helped pay for abortions. Most pay cash, and many can’t afford it. (Weissmann, 11/23)
