Instagram And Facebook Are Removing Abortion Pill Posts
Meta is removing posts mentioning "abortion pills."
Meta companies Instagram and Facebook have begun removing posts about abortion pills since the United States Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade on Friday.
“States may not ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement following the ruling on Roe v. Wade.
Social media users have started to share posts regarding mifepristone and misoprostol along with where users can get access to them. The posts have raised awareness of legal services where people can purchase medication abortions online.
The posts have been removed, some in a matter of minutes. According to the Associated Press (AP), they were sent a screenshot of an Instagram post where a woman offered to buy and send abortion pills through the mail.
“DM me if you want to order abortion pills, but want them sent to my address instead of yours,” wrote the user in her post.
Monday, an AP reporter sought out to test this by making a post for Facebook. In a similar post the reporter wrote: “If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills.”
According to AP, the post was removed in one minute. Facebook had placed a warning on the post for violating its policy on “guns, animals, and other regulated goods.” However, when the reporter swapped the words “abortion pills” for “a gun”, the post remained untouched. A post mentioning the sale of marijuana did not appear to violate Facebook’s policy.
“Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription medication is allowed,” wrote Meta spokesperson Andy Stone via Twitter on Monday. “We've discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these.”
Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription medication is allowed. We've discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these.
— Andy Stone (@andymstone) June 27, 2022
To access these medications through legal services please visit Hey Jane, Just the Pill, and Choix to learn more.
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