Medical providers, activists urge Google to ban ads from anti-abortion clinics

A coalition of more than 100 medical providers and advocacy groups asked Google to stop accepting ads from anti-abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers in a letter sent to the tech giant Wednesday. 

The letter, led by women’s rights group UltraViolet, urges Google to ban ads from anti-abortion centers in order to help mitigate efforts to “mislead, harm, and misdirect people away from reproductive health and abortion care,” according to a copy of the letter shared with The Hill.

“Allowing anti-abortion centers to place ads on your platforms that steers unsuspecting people into the hands of those who will deny them care is unethical. The best way to prevent this is to remove and ban intentionally misleading advertisements sponsored by anti-abortion clinics and centers, especially crisis pregnancy centers,” they wrote.

A Google spokesperson said in a statement the company requires “any organization that wants to advertise to people seeking information about abortion services to be certified and clearly disclose whether they do or do not offer abortions” and highlighted the recent update to make the disclosures “more visible.” 

“We are committed to ensuring advertisements on this topic are clear and easily understood,” the spokesperson said. 

The letter is the latest effort pushing Google to take action against anti-abortion clinics and crisis pregnancy centers, which do not provide abortion services and encourage patients to continue their pregnancies. 

Last month, Google said it would clearly identify facilities that provide abortions to help ensure people seeking abortion care aren’t misled by anti-abortion clinics. The change came after pressure from lawmakers, Google employees and a published Bloomberg analysis that found Google Maps searches for abortion clinics routinely misled users by showing results for crisis pregnancy centers.

Pressure has been mounting for Google and other tech companies to address misinformation about abortions, as well as the handling of sensitive reproductive health and geolocation data, following the Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade.

The decision triggered strict abortion bans and restrictions in states across the country.

Updated at 9:14 a.m.