Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Shouldn’t Google also remove deceptive ads from abortion clinics?

News recently broke that Google will remove some ads from pregnancy centers which Google deems to be deceptive.  At this point, no one knows exactly which ads Google will deem to be deceptive.  However, if Google is going to stop pregnancy centers from placing what Google deems to be deceptive advertisements, then shouldn’t they also stop abortion clinics from placing misleading ads as well? 

Google’s advertising policy says the ads should be “truthful, accurate, and up-to-date every time they're shown to users.”  Their policy also says ads should be “factually supportable” and “all discounts and offers in your ad must be up-to-date and must match the content on your website.”
       
There are clearly a number of ads from abortion clinics which don't match these requirements.

Here’s one example of a New York abortion clinic claiming that to be New York’s “safest abortion option” with “immediate recovery” and “no wait.”






Here’s an example of a Los Angeles area abortion clinic claiming to offer “free” abortion services.



Here’s a chain of abortion clinics claiming to provide “gentle” abortions up to 24 weeks.



Pregnancy centers offering free services to women in unplanned pregnancies shouldn't be the only groups whose ads are targeted, especially when it's clear that abortion clinics are using Google to place deceptive ads.