YouTube has changed the disclaimer attached to some abortion-related videos after a group of 16 attorneys general (AGs) sent a letter demanding the platform remove misleading information listed there. In the letter, the AGs pointed out that pro-life information has long been suppressed by Alphabet, Inc. — the parent company of sites like Google and YouTube.
“Less than two years ago, more than a dozen states warned Alphabet’s CEO that Google must not discriminate against pro-life pregnancy resource centers in its search results, advertising, and other products. Soon after, Yelp discriminated against these same centers by posting a misleading ‘consumer notice’ on the centers’ business pages. Attorneys general from [24] states demanded that Yelp remove the misleading notices,” the letter read. They continued:
Now, YouTube is following that unfortunate trend and has added its own misleading “information panel” to videos about abortion. Your notice contains false information about a central issue in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. It also misleads women seeking information about abortion drugs, potentially endangering their lives. We demand that you remove or correct the notice immediately.
The letter also referenced a video from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), in which a woman describes her experience with chemical abortion, or the abortion pill. Attached to the video was the following disclaimer, which was also listed on other videos discussing abortion, like those posted by Live Action:
“An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medicine or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is done by a licensed healthcare professional.”
This was criticized as being misleading, as — because of revised FDA protocols — women now undergo chemical abortions on their own, at home, without any medical supervision whatsoever.
“Chemical abortion is the most common abortion method in the country, and women deserve to know the truth about these high-risk drugs that send, according to the FDA’s own label, roughly one in 25 women who take them to the emergency room,” the letter continued. “By asserting that chemical abortions are performed by licensed healthcare professionals, YouTube lies to our constituents and the rest of the American public. That lie is especially concerning because it inaccurately portrays a fact central to a current Supreme Court case.”
YouTube responded very quickly, and according to an ADF press release, has already changed the disclaimer. It now reads:
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It can be done two different ways: Medication abortion, which uses medicines to end the pregnancy. It is sometimes called a “medical abortion” or “abortion with pills.” Procedural abortion, a procedure to remove the pregnancy from the uterus. It is sometimes called a “surgical abortion.”
While the disclaimer still is not entirely truthful — abortion doesn’t merely end a “pregnancy,” but intentionally kills a preborn child to do so — ADF Senior Counsel Erik Baptist still applauded the change in a press release for the improvement on the previous false claim.
“Women deserve to know the truth about the risks posed by abortion drugs, which is why first-hand accounts like the ones ADF posted on YouTube are so vital,” he said. “Thanks to the leadership of state attorneys general calling out false information, YouTube has corrected its previously misleading notice.”
He added, “Because of the FDA’s reckless decision to end the requirement that chemical abortions be done by a licensed healthcare professional, women are now typically on their own when taking the drugs, without any direct medical supervision. That is why the YouTube disclaimer was flatly wrong and perfectly illustrates why we are suing the FDA on behalf of four medical associations, their members, and four doctors. The agency has discontinued virtually all safety protocols on abortion drugs, jeopardizing the health and safety of women.”
