By: Yuming Sun
The Roe v. Wade case currently going on contains sensitive things about abortions. A new problem with abortions rises in a form of internet searches. According to several accounts, Google has showing websites of “fake” clinics in some states in America. Many clinics that Google forwards the website to, do not in fact, do abortions. Feeding fake information to people who desperately need it is not what a company, much less a search engine, should do. If a pregnant woman sees a fake clinic and decides to go and see if she can get an abortion, she would be heavily disappointed and she would feel ashamed. Many U.S. lawmakers are troubled when this issue arose. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, was told by twenty Democratic Senators along with Independent Senator Bernie Sanders to quickly resolve this business. Many pregnant women are upset, to say the least, with this case.
To better understand why this is a sensitive issue, many of the searches on Google for abortion clinics have websites showing antiabortion clinics or clinics that simply do not have the medical equipment for it. This can make pregnant women feel insecure and question their choices. Many people are talking about this problem, as shown with the wide variety of news articles about this matter. People are starting to question Google as a search engine, and many important people in law and court and racing to write to Google to stop advertising for false advertising. False advertising is against Google’s policy. It has not been confirmed if the Google spokesperson has responded to these letters.
When reading about this troubling news, understanding many different people’s take on this is key. Many women may be mad about this, as it is only natural to be mad if someone or something has been lying to you. However, this writer would like to understand many others’ points of view. Take Sunder Pichai, there could be many different reasons that Sunder Pichai hasn’t publicly said that she has responded to the letters. She may have been busy or is still trying to figure out what to write back to these lawmakers. It is always a big deal when there has been a public outcry of any sorts. Of course, one can’t be sure what is happening in others’ brains, but sometimes it’s good to see someone else’s perspective.
Links: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655667897911x455898890068321600/Google%20results%20for%20abortion%20clinics%20are%20suggesting%20%27fake%20clinics%27%20before%20SCOTUS%20ruling%2C%20lawmakers%20say%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf