Shocking: Google imposes rules to censor digital marketing of pro-life pregnancy centres
Precious Life have sharply criticised Google for imposing strict rules on advertising relating to abortion. The tech giant has decided to aid the sales of abortion profiteers by implementing the tighter controls from June in the UK, Ireland and US only, for advertisers “using keywords related to getting an abortion."
In the update to its abortion policy, Google states that advertisers will need to apply for certification, sharing information as to whether the organisation provides abortions or not, as well as basic details about the company. The move is a clear attempt to ensure that abortion-related ads are the most relevant, ultimately meaning that women in crisis pregnancies are pushed increasingly towards seeing abortion as their only option.
In response to the news, Bernadette Smyth, Head of Precioua Life, blasted Google, calling the move deeply biased following on from similar censorship of the pro-life message during Ireland’s abortion referendum:
“Google are clearly attempting to censor the pro-life, pro-woman and pro-baby message which these clinics, and the pro-life cause as a whole, seeks to communicate. This move is further evidence of the organisation’s blatant and unconcealed bias towards our message, which has always been one of promoting hope, not abortion. Google behaved in a similar way during the abortion referendum in the Republic of Ireland, banning ads from pro-life groups who were hugely reliant on creating their own media in order to get their message out. The demonization of pro-life organisations seeking better alternatives for women than abortion is unacceptable and it must stop."
Bernadette Smyth condemned the advertising bans and stated that in light of Ireland’s abortion referendum result and a ferocious push to introduce abortion in Northern Ireland, Google’s move will have a huge impact on the effective digital marketing of pregnancy centres which have never been more important for women finding themselves in need of help.
She stated: “What we know from a huge range of studies is that women do not ‘shop’ for an abortion like they do with products like clothes or makeup. In fact, the vast majority of women are not being given enough information to make an informed choice, and are suffering the devastating consequences of abortion as a result. What we also know from our direct experience and the testimonies of so many women is that many women and girls feel pressured or coerced by others to have an abortion. Now we have Google who are attempting to ensure that women see only abortion profiteers. They are actively trying to make sure that women’s choices are limited and that abortion is marketed as the best and only choice for women – which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Bernadette Smyth also stressed the importance of such centres for women searching for information about abortion online.
She continued, “It is hugely important for women to come to crisis pregnancy centres such as Stanton Healthcare in Belfast, which provide them with honest, factual information directly relating to abortion. Women searching for abortion online are very rarely convinced that they want to have an abortion; what they are also seeking are forms of help which can make it possible to give birth to their baby. Censoring pro-life pregnancy centres which save women and babies from abortion daily is appalling and does a huge injustice to women everywhere.
Any woman, regardless of her situation, who feels as though her only choice is abortion, deserves to be fully informed about the dangers of abortion and the risks to herself. Women deserve to know the truth – that abortion is linked to a catastrophic increase in serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, post-abortion syndrome and alcohol and drug abuse.”
Pro-life pregnancy centres have never been more crucial because the abortion industry are failing to provide women with any honest information about the risks of abortion and almost never do abortion providers actually discuss in any depth the horrifying and cruel reality of what happens to an unborn child in an abortion.
Mrs Smyth continued, “Women are suffering so much because of the fact that real information about abortion is not available to them – these abortion providers are focused not on authentic care or compassion, but are driven wholly by an insatiable desire to make a profit off the backs of the most vulnerable. We must remember that the abortion industry is first and foremost an industry. Abortion providers are not concerned with helping women; they are concerned with meeting targets, keeping abortion rates high and running a lucrative business – all at the expense of women and their unborn children.”
Precious Life will continue working to ensure that abortion in Northern Ireland remains not only illegal but unthinkable and that every woman and baby is saved from the horror of abortion.