NARAL adds Yahoo success after Google

NARAL Pro-Choice America has convinced Yahoo to take down some ads for “crisis pregnancy centers” after the group had similar success with Google last month.

Abortion rights activists complained the ads were deceptive, but activists opposed to abortion were outraged at their removal.

“We have found at least some of the ads to be out of compliance with our policies, and we are taking them down,” a Yahoo representative told The Hill in a statement. “We’re in the process of reviewing the other ads and will take similar action if any are found to not be in compliance with our policies.”

{mosads}Earlier this week, NARAL and the women’s rights group UltraViolet launched a petition for Yahoo to take down “deceptive” clinic ads targeted at people searching for abortion services. Activists say the clinics target people looking for abortions and try to discourage them from going through with the procedure. 

Promotions shared with The Hill advertised facilities as an “Abortion Clinic,” even though they did not offer abortions.

In its advertising policies, Yahoo reserves the right to take down ads that are “misleading, deceptive, false or untrue.”

In a statement on Friday, NARAL President Ilyse Hogue said the group was “pleased that Yahoo has confirmed that some of these deceptive crisis pregnancy center ads violate their advertising policies” and will remove them.

“No company should want advertising dollars from facilities that put the well-being of women in jeopardy,” she added. “We will work with Yahoo to pinpoint the ads that are masquerading as abortion clinics so they are promptly taken down when they appear.”

Last month, Google also agreed to pull some ads for the center, after pressure from NARAL.

Abortion opponents blasted that move, which they said would prevent women from getting valuable information about their options when pregnant.    

National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias on Friday called Yahoo’s decision “unconscionable.”

“When a woman is facing an unexpected pregnancy, she is looking for information and options. Pregnancy Centers are a valuable, viable, source of help,” she said in an email to The Hill.

“Apparently NARAL, and now Google and Yahoo, think that abortion should be the only ‘choice’ the woman knows about.”

— This story was updated at 1:11 p.m.