A group of Republican attorneys general are demanding that YouTube remove a “misleading” context disclaimer on a video posted by a pro-life group warning about chemical abortions.
In a letter sent Monday to Neal Mohan, CEO of Google-owned YouTube, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, along with 15 of her Republican colleagues, criticized the platform for adding “factually false” context notes to certain videos, and demanded the company immediately remove or correct a misleading “information panel” attached to a video posted by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The video referenced is of a woman “describing her excruciating experience of inducing a chemical abortion alone at home, without a doctor or nurse present.”
“Your bias against pro-life and pro-woman messages is un-American; inconsistent with the freedoms protected by the First Amendment; and, in this case, illegal. It must end,” the letter says.
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Brenna Bird, Iowa Attorney General (Photo by RACHEL MUMMEY/AFP via Getty Images)
The “context” note posted by YouTube states that “abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medication or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is performed by a licensed health professional.” .
Prosecutors say the last sentence of the notice is “false and misleading.”
“This suggests that chemical abortions are performed by trained professionals. They are not. Although surgical abortions are still typically 'performed by a licensed health care professional,' under current FDA protocols, chemical abortions are 'performed' by the pregnant women themselves,” the AGs say. in the letter.
AG Bird told Fox News Digital in a statement: “Women deserve to know the truth. While brave women share their testimonies of suffering from abortion drugs at home without a doctor, YouTube denies the reality. YouTube campaign misrepresents abortions chemicals, targets the pro- messages of life, and puts real lives in danger.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall of Alabama, who also signed the letter, told Fox News Digital: “This is the latest troubling example of how Big Tech is targeting conservative views. Worse, YouTube is doing so by spreading false statements and dangerous.”
The letter references the case soon to be heard by the Supreme Court, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which is a challenge brought by FDA attorneys questioning access to the abortion pill and the Administration's regulatory approval process. US Food and Drug Administration
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The “context” note posted by YouTube states that “abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It uses medication or surgery to remove the embryo or fetus and placenta from the uterus. The procedure is performed by a licensed health professional.” . ((Photo illustration by Florian Gaertner/Getty Images))
The FDA took several steps intended to facilitate access and use of the mifepristone pill in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
The letter notes that before 2016, the FDA required that mifepristone and misoprostol be prescribed and administered only by physicians and only in a healthcare setting, requirements that mitigate the serious risks these medications pose to women.
The AGs point out that the FDA now allows women to receive such medications from non-doctors in the mail and self-administer them, all without necessarily seeing a doctor or other health care professional in person.
“Chemical abortion is the most common abortion method in the country, and women deserve to know the truth about these high-risk medications that send, according to the FDA's own label, approximately one in 25 women who take them to the emergency room”. the AGs write.
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Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to induce medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. (Getty Images)
“By claiming that chemical abortions are performed by licensed health professionals, YouTube is lying to our constituents and the rest of the American public. That lie is especially troubling because it inaccurately portrays a fact central to a current Supreme Court case.” , says the letter.
The letter also notes that “by editing and posting the false warning label, YouTube does not have immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.” Section 230 is the federal statute that protects social media platforms from lawsuits over content created by outside users.
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“One of our country's most beloved traditions is the freedom to speak and express ourselves in the marketplace of ideas. As Americans increasingly rely on the Internet and social media, we have repeatedly urged technology companies, including Alphabet , to operate in a spirit of honesty and transparency,” the AGs say.
“We hope that YouTube recognizes the serious harm its ad represents and quickly removes or corrects it. If it does not, we will need to exercise our consumer protection authority to protect pregnant women and other consumers from its falsehoods,” the letter warns.
Ivy Choi, a spokesperson for YouTube, told Fox News Digital in a statement: “As part of our work to connect people with high-quality health content, we are introducing an abortion dashboard that contains resources from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). “.
“These dashboards appear below videos and above search results related to the topic of abortion, regardless of point of view. We're working to keep our dashboards up to date, and the abortion dashboard now better reflects the latest news. of the NLM,” Choi said.
