America’s Row We Were Repealed: Facebook, Instagram Remove Social Media Posts Related to Abortion Pills

While abortion rights and civil liberties advocates have expressed concern over how tech companies will ensure American women’s online data security after the United States Supreme Court overturned the Rowe v Wade ruling, Meta, Facebook And two platforms under Instagram have started taking off. Abortion pills related posts

Both social media platforms have reportedly started eliminating posts related to abortion pills as the number of posts about such drugs increased following the US SC’s decision to remove constitutional protections for abortion.

Social media sites were filled with memes and status updates detailing how women could legally order abortion drugs by mail, via abortion telehealth services in US states where such healthcare is legal. .

Some even offered to mail prescriptions to women in states where surgery is currently prohibited.

Such social media posts are purportedly to help women in states with pre-existing anti-abortion laws suddenly came into force last week.

mention go up

According to research by media intelligence company Jignal Labs, posts on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and TV broadcasts on June 24 citing particular varieties of abortion pills as well as mifepristone and misoprostol suddenly increased.

The researchers then looked at more than 250,000 such mentions by June 26.

As The Guardian reports, Eric Feinberg, a researcher at the Coalition for a Safer Web, claimed that underground networks for abortion pills have begun to emerge after the court announced its decision.

Meanwhile, screenshots of such posts purportedly revealed that mifepristone was for sale in private Facebook groups with names like “MTP Kits and Other Pills” and “Cleaning and Abortion Pills”.

According to the Associated Press, another similar screenshot from an Instagram post showed that a woman offered to buy or forward such pills via mail soon after the decision was issued. The post read: “DM me if you want to order abortion pills but want them to be sent to my address instead of yours.” The social media platform soon removed that post.

It was also found that another post “If you want abortion pills in the US send me your address” shared on Facebook under the “only me” option was soon removed by the platform.

The account received an alert notice that said, “Your post is against our Community Standards on Drugs. No one else can see your post. We have these standards to encourage safety and comply with general legal restrictions.” “

The account from which the post was shared also received a warning saying: “Your account may be banned if you violate again.”

The post was created to examine what the platform will do when such posts are shared, even if the account holder shares it using the “only me” option.

what they say

A spokesperson for Meta cited corporate regulations that prohibit the sale of certain goods, such as firearms, alcohol, drugs and prescription drugs.

In a tweet responding to Meta spokesperson, Andy Stone wrote: “Content that seeks to buy, sell, trade, gift, solicit or donate to pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that seeks to make a donation is allowed. Discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription drugs. We have detected and corrected some instances of mismanagement.”

Most US states allow abortion pills to be mailed, while 19 states prohibit home use of such drugs without a prescription. According to the pro-choice research organization The Guttmacher Institute, pharmaceutical abortions are responsible for more than half of all abortions performed in the US.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week that mifepristone was approved for use by the FDA in 2000, and should not be made illegal by individual states.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s administration indicated it would try to prevent states from banning the pill used for drug abortion.

However, some Republicans have already made efforts to prevent their constituents from receiving abortion pills through the mail. States such as West Virginia and Tennessee forbid doctors from providing medication through telemedicine consultations. Additionally, with the Rowe v. Wade ruling overturned, more than a dozen states seek to ban abortions altogether.

read all breaking news , today’s fresh news watch top videos And live TV Here.