Google adverts route pregnant women in UK to services run by anti-abortion groups

An Observer investigation has discovered that women looking for abortion advice online in the United Kingdomare being routed to pregnancy counselling services sponsored by anti-abortion activists, said a report by the Guardian.

Those who search for keywords related to pregnancy and abortion are frequently served Google ads that are designed to seem like actual search results and appear above legitimate listings.

In an analysis this month, 117 out of 251 adverts shown by Google UK to a user searching 40 key phrases, including “NHS abortion advice”, “confidential abortion support” and “pregnant teenager help”, were from groups opposed to abortion.

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The findings show the marketing strategies used by anti-abortion organisations in the UK and have raised worries that women may be subjected to inaccurate information while seeking medical guidance. One organisation that promotes sexual health called the advertisements "clearly immoral."

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The adverts in the analysis—which were presented to a woman in her 20s in London in early February—contain a small tag designating them as advertisements, but they otherwise resemble genuine search results and show up above reliable information sources, such as the NHS website. In some cases, they promote advisory services that assert to provide unbiased support while hiding the anti-abortion ideologies of those who support them.

Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, one of the most prominent marketers, saw advertisements show up following searches for 14 of the 40 terms included in the report. Several of them read, "Considering an abortion? After searches for "buy abortion pill" and "help for pregnant teenagers," the phrase "talk to someone" surfaced.

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When people clicked on the links, they were taken to the helpline's website, which offers "support for women struggling with an unplanned pregnancy" and describes itself as an "anonymous and safeplace".

Although it claims to "not refer for abortions," it also makes no mention of the anti-abortion beliefs of its organisers and instead positions itself as an unbiased organisation that offers help "free from all the pressures".

However, Christian Concern, a right-wing evangelical group that supports the outlawing of abortion, helped develop the helpline. Regan King, a pastor of the Angel church in London's Islington, is on the board of the hotline. She has called abortion "Disgusting. Disturbing. Grim, gruesome, horrific, shocking, and awful". It was compared to "the new slave trade" and branded "vile." Christian Clive Copus is a different trustee.

Stella Creasy, a Labour MP who has advocated for reproductive healthcare access, urged the government to order tech companies to delete potentially damaging postings. There is a distinction, according to her, between enabling free expression and "seeking to mislead vulnerable readers who need to be confident that what they are reading is medically sound and impartial," she added.

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