USA – Google loophole allows anti-abortion clinics to post deceptive ads

Google loophole allows anti-abortion clinics to post deceptive ads
‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ seek to discourage women from getting abortions by ‘deceiving them about services they do or do not offer’

Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Mon 19 Aug 2019

A new Google policy that was meant to rein in deceptive advertising by “crisis pregnancy centers” has a loophole that is allowing the centers to continue to post misleading ads on the search engine.

Crisis pregnancy centers often seek to aggressively discourage women from getting abortions and have earned the ire of abortion rights groups for often seeming to resemble abortion clinics.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/19/google-loophole-anti-abortion-clinics-deceptive-ads


Anti-abortion group uses US federal grants to push controversial fertility app

Anti-abortion group uses US federal grants to push controversial fertility app
Femm app, which sows doubt about the pill, promoted by Obria group that was awarded $1.7m by Trump administration

Jessica Glenza
Mon 29 Jul 2019

US federal grants intended to help poor women obtain contraceptives are being used to promote a menstruation tracking app funded and operated by anti-birth control and anti-abortion campaigners.

The Femm app sows doubt about the birth control pill and promotes itself as a natural way for women to “avoid or achieve” pregnancy. The app collects women’s most intimate data, including details on menstruation, sex, mood and prescription drugs. Its developers say it has been downloaded more than 400,000 times.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/29/us-federal-grants-femm-app-natural-birth-control


USA – Google has given $150,000 in free ads to deceptive anti-abortion group

Google has given $150,000 in free ads to deceptive anti-abortion group
Exclusive: Obria Group’s ads suggest it provides abortion services, when in fact it tries to persuade women not to terminate pregnancies

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington and Jessica Glenza in New York
Mon 13 May 2019

Google has given tens of thousands of dollars in free advertising to an anti-abortion group that runs ads suggesting it provides abortion services at its medical clinics, but actually seeks to deter “abortion-minded women” from terminating their pregnancies.

The Obria Group, which runs a network of clinics funded by Catholic organisations, received a $120,000 Google advertising grant in 2015, according to a public filing. In 2011, it received nearly $32,000. Such grants are designed to support and expand the reach of non-profits around the world.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/12/google-advertising-abortion-obria


Trump Administration Gives Family Planning Grant to Anti-Abortion Group

Trump Administration Gives Family Planning Grant to Anti-Abortion Group

By Kenneth P. Vogel and Robert Pear
March 29, 2019

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration took an important step on Friday in its push to restrict access to abortion and contraception, announcing that it would give as much as $5.1 million in family planning funds to a nonprofit organization funded by allies of the Catholic Church.

The grant from the Department of Health and Human Services went to the Obria Group, a Southern California-based nonprofit that describes itself as being “led by God” and that aims to siphon patients — and money — away from Planned Parenthood.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/us/politics/trump-grant-abortion.html