The big picture: The National Right to Life Commission has drafted legislation that would make it a crime to advertise online information about methods to end a pregnancy, Politico reports.
The bill would treat abortion as an organized crime, using a combination of civil and criminal penalties in the same way that the 1970 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act does, Politico writes.
Details: Google and Facebook could potentially be liable for any user-generated content that promotes abortion and is directed at people in states where such services are illegal, Politico writes. Why it matters: At least 26 Republican-led states combined are expected to ban abortions or greatly restrict access to them after the ruling, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights organization.
Online orders for abortion pills – specifically two drugs called mifepristone and misoprostol – are expected to increase following the Supreme Court ruling.
State of play: The FDA lifted longstanding restrictions in December, clearing the way for doctors to prescribe them online and mail them to patients. The flip side: Abortion rights groups say ads should be protected under the First Amendment and that getting ads promoting abortion services has been difficult to approve until now.
“Defending a person’s right to have an abortion, informing a person how to legally obtain an abortion, encouraging a person to make their own reproductive health choices are all protected by the First Amendment,” said Vera Eidelman. , staff attorney. with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Program. Instagram and Facebook removed posts by users who suggested sharing abortion pills last month. Meta said the posts violated its controlled goods policies, Vice reported.
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