Instagram, Facebook Remove Posts Offering Abortion Pills
2022-06-29
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Facebook and Instagram have begun removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them.
2They started doing so after a Supreme Court decision Friday ended the constitutional right for a woman to choose to have an abortion.
3An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy.
4The abortion pill is medicine that can be taken to end a pregnancy.
5The social media posts that are being removed seemed aimed to help women living in states where pre-existing laws banning abortion went into effect after the high court ruling.
6After the ruling, posts explaining how women could legally get abortion pills in the mail suddenly increased across social platforms.
7Some even offered to mail prescriptions for the pill to women living in states that now ban the procedure.
8Almost immediately, Facebook and Instagram began removing some of these posts.
9Zignal Labs is a media intelligence and research company.
10It found that general mentions of abortion pills increased Friday morning across Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and on television broadcasts.
11There was also an increase in posts mentioning certain versions of the abortion pill, like mifepristone and misoprostol.
12By Sunday, Zignal had counted more than 250,000 such mentions.
13The Associated Press received a screenshot Friday of one Instagram post.
14The post was from a woman who offered to purchase or send abortion pills through the mail.
15She made the post minutes after the court ruled to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion.
16"(Direct message) me if you want to order abortion pills, but want them sent to my address instead of yours," the post read.
17Instagram quickly removed it. Vice Media first reported on Monday that Meta was taking down posts about abortion pills.
18Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
19On Monday, an AP reporter tested how the company would react to a similar post on Facebook.
20The reporter wrote: "If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills."
21The post was removed within one minute.
22The Facebook account was immediately put on a "warning" status for the post.
23Facebook said the post violated its rules on "guns, animals and other regulated goods."
24But when the AP reporter made the same exact post but changed the words "abortion pills" to "a gun," the post remained.
25A post with the same offer to mail marijuana was also left up and not considered a violation.
26The drug marijuana is illegal under federal law.
27It is illegal to send it through the mail.
28Abortion pills, however, can be sent legally through the mail after an online appointment with a medical provider.
29Abortion pills are approved for use by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, or FDA.
30In an email, a Meta spokesperson said company policies bar the sale of certain items, including guns, alcohol, drugs and prescription drugs.
31The spokesperson did not explain the differences in how the company enforces the policy.
32Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote in a tweet Monday that the company will not permit individuals to gift or sell prescription drugs on its platforms.
33But it will permit content that shares information on how to access pills.
34Stone admitted there were some problems with enforcing that policy across its platforms.
35U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that states should not ban mifepristone.
36The medication is used to cause an abortion.
37"States may not ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA's expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," Garland said in a Friday statement.
38But some Republican state lawmakers have already tried to stop their residents from getting abortion pills through the mail.
39And some states, like West Virginia and Tennessee, ban healthcare providers from prescribing the medication through online appointments.
40I'm Ashley Thompson.
1Facebook and Instagram have begun removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them. 2They started doing so after a Supreme Court decision Friday ended the constitutional right for a woman to choose to have an abortion. An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. The abortion pill is medicine that can be taken to end a pregnancy. 3The social media posts that are being removed seemed aimed to help women living in states where pre-existing laws banning abortion went into effect after the high court ruling. 4After the ruling, posts explaining how women could legally get abortion pills in the mail suddenly increased across social platforms. Some even offered to mail prescriptions for the pill to women living in states that now ban the procedure. 5Almost immediately, Facebook and Instagram began removing some of these posts. 6Zignal Labs is a media intelligence and research company. It found that general mentions of abortion pills increased Friday morning across Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and on television broadcasts. There was also an increase in posts mentioning certain versions of the abortion pill, like mifepristone and misoprostol. 7By Sunday, Zignal had counted more than 250,000 such mentions. 8The Associated Press received a screenshot Friday of one Instagram post. The post was from a woman who offered to purchase or send abortion pills through the mail. She made the post minutes after the court ruled to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. 9"(Direct message) me if you want to order abortion pills, but want them sent to my address instead of yours," the post read. 10Instagram quickly removed it. Vice Media first reported on Monday that Meta was taking down posts about abortion pills. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. 11On Monday, an AP reporter tested how the company would react to a similar post on Facebook. The reporter wrote: "If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills." 12The post was removed within one minute. 13The Facebook account was immediately put on a "warning" status for the post. Facebook said the post violated its rules on "guns, animals and other regulated goods." 14But when the AP reporter made the same exact post but changed the words "abortion pills" to "a gun," the post remained. A post with the same offer to mail marijuana was also left up and not considered a violation. 15The drug marijuana is illegal under federal law. It is illegal to send it through the mail. Abortion pills, however, can be sent legally through the mail after an online appointment with a medical provider. Abortion pills are approved for use by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, or FDA. 16In an email, a Meta spokesperson said company policies bar the sale of certain items, including guns, alcohol, drugs and prescription drugs. The spokesperson did not explain the differences in how the company enforces the policy. 17Meta spokesperson Andy Stone wrote in a tweet Monday that the company will not permit individuals to gift or sell prescription drugs on its platforms. But it will permit content that shares information on how to access pills. Stone admitted there were some problems with enforcing that policy across its platforms. 18U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that states should not ban mifepristone. The medication is used to cause an abortion. 19"States may not ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA's expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," Garland said in a Friday statement. 20But some Republican state lawmakers have already tried to stop their residents from getting abortion pills through the mail. 21And some states, like West Virginia and Tennessee, ban healthcare providers from prescribing the medication through online appointments. 22I'm Ashley Thompson. 23Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 24_______________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26abortion - n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus 27access - v. a way of being able to use or get something 28prescription - n. a written message from a doctor that officially tells someone to use a medicine, therapy, etc. 29mention - n. a short statement about something or someone 30regulate - v. to make rules or laws that control 31efficacy - n. the power to produce a desired result or effect 32resident - n. someone who lives in a particular place