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Google updated its search function in order to differentiate abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers. This was after Democratic legislators raised concerns about “fake” clinics being found on searches. The pushback came from the pro-life movement.
Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia Democrat), posted a Thursday letter from Mark Isakowitz Google vice-president of government affairs, public policy and government relations, explaining that Google searches for “abortion centers near me” will show “facilities which have been confirmed to offer abortions .”
In addition to this, Google’s ads with the “Provides abortions” and “Doesn’t provide abortions” labels have been moved up from the bottom of search results to the top. As shown in the attachment.
” People will have the ability to expand their search to include other pertinent listings (including those from non-abortion organizations), Mr. Isakowitz explained. Local Search Results for these queries will be marked with whether or not the facility offers abortions
The updates are brought to you by Democrats, prochoice activists, and tech platforms zeroing-in on pro-life pregnancies centers. These free services include pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling and counseling but no abortions.
“I appreciate the Google changes today to ensure that women looking for abortion services don’t get directed to fake clinics, which traffic in misinformation. They also provide limited health care services. This isn’t about restricting speech or silence. It’s about providing search results that address the query of the user and giving them relevant information .”
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Prolife activists have protested against this “fake clinics” charge. Care Net International and Heartbeat International are two major chains that make it clear clear explicit on their sites that they don’t offer abortions or refer to abortion providers.
Marjorie Dannenfelser is the president of SBA Pro-Life America. She accuses Democrats and tech platforms demonizing centers.
” Google’s slogan used to read ‘Don’t be Evil’. Big Tech companies need to be embarrassed for collaborating with the abortion industry in order to encourage abortion, scare women, and create stigma around pregnant centers,” she stated.
A few days earlier, Yelp placed a “consumer warning” in its listings for pro-life centers. It stated that these facilities “typically offer limited medical services and may lack licensed professionals onsite .”
Ms. Dannenfelser noted that centers outnumber abortion facilities nationally by 3 to 1. They offer a range of resources abortion providers do not, including free diapers and baby clothes.
” These community-based non-profits offer crucial resources that empower women in ways Planned Parenthood and other abortion companies simply can’t,” she stated. “Despite polling showing that both pro-lifers and pro-choice Americans support the establishment of pregnancy centers, Democrats continue to vilify them and threaten to close them down .”
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More than 60 pro-life pregnancy centers have been attacked by pro-choice extremists since the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked May 1. Three facilities sustained extensive fire damage due to incendiary device use.
“If the Democrats and their Silicon Valley allies were honest, they’d show how women have real choices, with better options that outnumber Planned Parenthood 14 to one nationwide,” Ms. Dannenfelser said.
In June, I called on @Google to fix its @googlemaps search results to stop directing people to anti-abortion clinics known as crisis pregnancy centers, and today Google is doing just that.
I applaud @Google for taking steps to help protect access to reproductive care. https://t.co/wD4eCKh0Gs
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 25, 2022
Mr. Warner led a June 17 letter from 21 House and Senate Democrats calling on Google to take action, as did New York Attorney General Letitia James, who urged Google in a June 29 letter to address the “dangerous amplification” of such centers.
“I congratulate Google for making steps to improve search results to assist individuals looking to have abortion care.” Ms. James stated in a Thursday statement. These critical Google search result changes will save lives and help people get the care they require .”
— Ryan Lovelace contributed to this report.
