Google is asked to prove it’s not suppressing anti-abortion search results

Republican attorneys general from 17 states are asking Alphabet Inc.’s Google to provide assurances that the search giant isn’t suppressing results for crisis pregnancy centers in favor of abortion clinics.

The letter, part of a campaign spearheaded by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, asks Google to resist a June 17 call from Democratic lawmakers to “limit the appearance of pro-life clinics” in search results. The legislators had written to Alphabet chief executive officer Sundar Pichai about “disturbing” reports of Google’s search results for “abortion” and “abortion pill” directing people to crisis pregnancy centers, which attempt to steer women away from abortions.

They had asked Alphabet to limit results for those centers for people seeking abortion services or to provide disclaimers that indicate such organizations do not offer abortion care.

“Google appears to have caved to those demands,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in the statement Tuesday. Alphabet has not announced any changes to searches related to reproductive health care in the last month and results for abortion still regularly serve up crisis pregnancy centers. Google didn’t respond to a request for further comment, and the Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to questions asking what changes he was referring to in his comments.

Technology giants are also facing questions about whether they will hand over user data to authorities in states that have banned or severely limited abortion. A majority of states either already have or will add laws that restrict access to abortion now that there are no federal protections, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Google said earlier this month it will automatically delete records of user visits to sensitive locations, including abortion clinics. The Republican attorneys general accused the search giant “religious discrimination” if it is suppressing results for the pro-life centers because they are often faith-based services. The letter asks Alphabet if its treating crisis pregnancy centers “any differently” than they were before. They gave the search giant 14 days to respond. The letter came from a mix of states where abortion is banned, such at Texas and Mississippi, and others such as Virginia and Montana, where abortion is not restricted.

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