On Monday, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, rebuked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for promoting the website AbortionFinder.org, a third-party website that promotes abortion providers and provides minors as young as “15 and younger” with information about how to obtain an abortion without parental knowledge. Cassidy also expressed concerns that the website may be collecting health data on individuals less than 18 years of age and using this information to send them targeted advertising for abortion-related procedures.
This past summer, HHS launched ReproductiveRights.gov, which directs individuals to AbortionFinder.org, a website that provides information on how to obtain an abortion procedure or the abortion pill and information on the abortion laws of their state. The website also provides information on judicial bypass, a judicial process that allows individuals younger than 18 to get an abortion without involving a parent or legal guardian, even in states with parental notification laws. Additionally, the website’s Privacy Policy allows its parent company, Bedsider.org, to collect personal information from users, including minors, for advertising and other business purposes.
“As a doctor and member of Congress, I find it abhorrent that the federal government would use taxpayer dollars to promote a website that offers this type of information, especially to help minors as young as ‘15 and younger’ obtain an abortion without their parent’s knowledge,” wrote Dr. Cassidy.
“I am also concerned that this outside organization may be collecting information on minors and using this information to send them targeted advertising for abortion-related procedures. By linking to Abortion Finder, HHS, and thereby the federal government, has once again prioritized a political agenda over parental rights and children’s safety,” continued Dr. Cassidy. “Therefore, I request HHS to respond to the following questions on a question-by-question basis no later than March 24, 2023.”
Read the full letter here.
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