Google has modified its search interface so users may easily determine from the results whether or not a given medical facility offers abortion services.
Labels and Markers
The search engine made the announcement on Thursday.
Any queries for abortion-related content that take place in either Google Search or Google Maps will now have a label connected to medical centers that Google has verified conduct abortions.
Google Maps and search will label health clinics that provide abortions https://t.co/TKQt31g1J7 pic.twitter.com/gWzVGfRCYc
— The Verge (@verge) August 25, 2022
The revelation is the most recent response from technology businesses to the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which held that there is no statutory right to abortion.
As per Techcrunch, if Google is able to establish that a certain medical institution offers abortion services, the listing for that facility in relevant searches will carry a tag noting that it “provides abortion services.”
In the event that the organization is unable to confirm the details, the website will declare that it “might not offer abortions.”
Google is making an effort to deliver relevant contextual data in response to certain searches and the extra tags are a part of that effort.
For instance, Google announced it now brings similar markers to lookups for electric vehicle charging terminals. On top of this, Google is now broadening these features to also apply to searches for veterans’ health facilities.
Google likewise adds similar tags to searches for specific COVID-19 vaccine brands.
Extra Measures?
In the weeks that followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Google was one of the first enterprises in the technology industry to try to seize control of what abortion-related information might be made available.
This attempt was made in an effort to determine what information should be made public.
The large technology company made the announcement at the beginning of July that it will be clearing the location history for any users who were perhaps looking for abortion facilities.
The corporation stated it will take this action to ensure that the criminal justice system cannot gain access to the data through the use of a warrant in an effort to punish someone for having an abortion in violation of the law.
In June, I called on @Google to fix its @googlemaps search results to stop directing people to anti-abortion clinics known as crisis pregnancy centers, and today Google is doing just that.
I applaud @Google for taking steps to help protect access to reproductive care. https://t.co/wD4eCKh0Gs
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 25, 2022
The labels are a component of broader efforts being made by the tech industry to educate people about the availability of abortion services.
Many individuals who support women’s access to abortion have voiced their concerns over crisis pregnancy centers, stating these facilities attempt to give the impression that they are abortion clinics when, in reality, they are not.
Because of this, the user review website Yelp decided to put notifications on all crisis pregnancy centers so that its users would have a better understanding of what these clinics are.
In the end, do you think this is a good idea?
This article appeared in NewsHouse and has been published here with permission.
