Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Facebook Blocks Posts Offering Abortion Pills. Leaves Gun, Weed Sale Offers Up
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
June 28, 2022

Share

 

Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure.

Such social media posts ostensibly aimed to help women living in states where preexisting laws banning abortion suddenly snapped into effect on Friday. That’s when the high court overruled Roe v. Wade, its 1973 decision that declared access to abortion a constitutional right.

Memes and status updates explaining how women could legally obtain abortion pills in the mail exploded across social platforms. Some even offered to mail the prescriptions to women living in states that now ban the procedure.

Almost immediately, Facebook and Instagram began removing some of these posts, just as millions across the U.S. were searching for clarity around abortion access. General mentions of abortion pills, as well as posts mentioning specific versions such as mifepristone and misoprostol, suddenly spiked Friday morning across Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and TV broadcasts, according to an analysis by the media intelligence firm Zignal Labs.

By Sunday, Zignal had counted more than 250,000 such mentions.

The AP obtained a screenshot on Friday of one Instagram post from a woman who offered to purchase or forward abortion pills through the mail, minutes after the court ruled to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion.

“DM me if you want to order abortion pills, but want them sent to my address instead of yours,” the post on Instagram read.

Instagram took it down within moments. Vice Media first reported on Monday that Meta, the parent of both Facebook and Instagram, was taking down posts about abortion pills.

On Monday, an AP reporter tested how the company would respond to a similar post on Facebook, writing: “If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills.”

The post was removed within one minute.

The Facebook account was immediately put on a “warning” status for the post, which Facebook said violated its standards on “guns, animals and other regulated goods.”

Yet, when the AP reporter made the same exact post but swapped out the words “abortion pills” for “a gun,” the post remained untouched. A post with the same exact offer to mail “weed” was also left up and not considered a violation.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law and it is illegal to send it through the mail.

Abortion pills, however, can legally be obtained through the mail after an online consultation from prescribers who have undergone certification and training.

In an email, a Meta spokesperson pointed to company policies that prohibit the sale of certain items, including guns, alcohol, drugs and pharmaceuticals. The company did not explain the apparent discrepancies in its enforcement of that policy.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed in a tweet Monday that the company will not allow individuals to gift or sell pharmaceuticals on its platform, but will allow content that shares information on how to access pills. Stone acknowledged some problems with enforcing that policy across its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram.

“We’ve discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these,” Stone said in the tweet.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that states should not ban mifepristone, the medication used to induce an abortion.

“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.

But some Republicans have already tried to stop their residents from obtaining abortion pills through the mail, with some states like West Virginia and Tennessee prohibiting providers from prescribing the medication through telemedicine consultation.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

DON'T MISS

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

DON'T MISS

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

DON'T MISS

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

DON'T MISS

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

DON'T MISS

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

DON'T MISS

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

UP NEXT

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

UP NEXT

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

UP NEXT

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

UP NEXT

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

UP NEXT

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

UP NEXT

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

UP NEXT

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

UP NEXT

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Locating Missing At-Risk Man

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

1 hour ago

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

2 hours ago

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

2 hours ago

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

2 hours ago

Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo

2 hours ago

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

3 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Locating Missing At-Risk Man

4 hours ago

Mattel Is Combining Film and Television Units to Create Mattel Studios

4 hours ago

Campbell’s Co. Says Sales Rise as More Americans Cook at Home

4 hours ago

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

HOUSTON — Jonathan Joss, a voice actor best known for his work on the animated television series “King of the Hill,” was fatally shot near h...

29 minutes ago

Photo of caution tape
29 minutes ago

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

Fresno County fire crews are battling a wildland blaze in Yokuts Valley near Rector Lane, where the RECTOR incident has burned 10 acres with the potential to spread to 100 on Monday, June 2, 2025. (CalFire)
47 minutes ago

Fresno County Crews Battle Active Wildfire in Yokuts Valley, Evacuation Warning Issued

1 hour ago

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

Photo of a laptop with a Department of Justice logo on the screens
1 hour ago

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

2 hours ago

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

2 hours ago

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

2 hours ago

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

Stephanie Marie Zamarripa is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for June 2, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend