Colombia – ‘It’s not the 90s any more’: the all-women team reinventing abortion advice for the TikTok age

The irreverent approach of the Colombian hotline Jacarandas has made it the most-followed abortion account on social media in the Spanish-speaking world

Isabel Choat
Tue 13 Jan 2026

What do a purple cartoon cat and abortion have in common? Nothing – and that is the point, say the women behind Jacarandas, a Colombian abortion helpline. Determined to set themselves apart from more traditional reproductive health organisations, Jacarandas commissions street and graphic artists to create eye-catching illustrations – most recently a cartoon feline called Gataranda, inspired by the team’s much-loved office pet.

The aim is not to make light of abortion but to appeal to the teenagers and young women who use Jacarandas’ services. “A lot of people do not connect with [an image of] the uterus on fire, so we thought ‘what can we do to connect more with young women?” says Carolina Benítez Mendoza, the deputy director.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/13/its-not-the-90s-any-more-the-all-women-team-reinventing-abortion-advice-for-the-tiktok-age

Meta is Removing Abortion Advocates’ Accounts Without Warning

BY LISA FEMIA
September 24, 2025

When the team at Women Help Women signed into Instagram last winter, they were met with a distressing surprise: without warning, Meta had disabled their account. The abortion advocacy non-profit organization found itself suddenly cut off from its tens of thousands of followers and with limited recourse. Meta claimed Women Help Women had violated its Community Standards on “guns, drugs, and other restricted goods,” but the organization told EFF it uses Instagram only to communicate about safe abortion practices, including sharing educational content and messages aimed at reducing stigma. Eventually, Women Help Women was able to restore its account—but only after launching a public campaign and receiving national news coverage.

Continued: https://www.eff.org/pages/meta-removing-abortion-advocates-accounts-without-warning

24.09.2025

Commentary

digital censorship

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Meta and abortion

Meta censorship

Meta’s Transparency Center

RISE Center for Reproductive Health Research

Stop Censoring Abortion campaign

Our Stop Censoring Abortion Campaign Uncovers a Social Media Censorship Crisis

BY JENNIFER PINSOF, Electronic Frontier Foundation
September 15, 2025

We’ve been hearing that social media platforms are censoring abortion-related content, even when no law requires them to do so. Now, we’ve got the receipts.

For months, EFF has been investigating stories from users whose abortion-related content has been taken down or otherwise suppressed by major social media platforms. In collaboration with our allies—including Plan C, Women on Web, Reproaction, and Women First Digital—we launched the #StopCensoringAbortion campaign to collect and amplify these stories.

Continued: https://www.eff.org/pages/our-stop-censoring-abortion-campaign-uncovers-social-media-censorship-crisis

Vital abortion-related content is apparently being blocked by Meta – potentially putting women at risk

The tech company, which owns Facebook and WhatsApp amongst others, has reportedly blocked or limited access to abortion providers
By Kimberley Bond

22 May 2025

The tech giant Meta has been accused by abortion providers of limiting their content in the US and Central America.

MSI Reproductive Choices (an international non-government agency that provides reproductive healthcare) and Plan C Pills (an information resource helping people with understanding safe, at-home abortions) claims Meta, which owns social media platform Facebook and messaging service WhatsApp, have censored their services.

The WhatsApp for Business account of the leading abortion provider in Mexico, Fundación MSI (part of MSI Reproductive Choices), has been suspended, which has led to an immediate 80 per cent drop in people booking appointments. WhatsApp was the primary channel for people seeking reproductive care, with MSI Reproductive Choices now fighting to get the platform reinstated.

Continued: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a64849730/meta-block-abortion-content/

Abortion-rights groups denounce censorship on Meta-owned apps in Latin America and beyond

All of a sudden, women contacting one of the biggest sources of information about abortion in Mexico through the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp were met with silence

By MARÍA VERZA, Associated Press
May 15, 2025

MEXICO CITY -- All of a sudden, women contacting one of the biggest sources of information about abortion in Mexico through the encrypted messaging app WhatsApp were met with silence.

The nongovernmental organization’s business account had been blocked. Weeks later, a similar digital blackout struck a collective in Colombia.

Across the Americas, organizations that guide women seeking abortions in various countries are raising alarm, decrying what they see as a new wave of censorship on platforms owned by tech giant Meta — even in countries where abortion is decriminalized. The organizations believe this is due to a combination of changes to Meta policies and attacks by anti-abortion groups that denounce their content.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/abortion-rights-groups-denounce-censorship-meta-owned-apps-121843396