abortion

Anti-abortion Anonymous hacker arrested in U.K.

Shortly after hacking into Britain's biggest abortion provider's Web site and stealing 10,000 database records of women registered with the service, self-proclaimed member of Anonymous James Jeffery proudly touted his triumph on Twitter.

It was this misstep that quickly led to his arrest, court hearing, admission of guilt, and impending sentence, according to the Guardian.

It all started on Thursday when the British Pregnancy Advisory Service reported that there were 26,000 attempted break-ins to its Web site over a six-hour period. According to the Guardian, the site was also defaced with the Anonymous logo and a … Read more

ACLU asks Apple to fix Siri's birth-control glitch on iPhone

It's funny how Siri works. She will tell you where you can find an escort, drugs, or guns but can't seem to help if you are seeking birth control or abortion clinics.

Today, the ACLU launched a petition that asks Apple to fix the "glitch" in the voice-activated service on the iPhone 4S so it provides useful information to people seeking information on reproductive resources.

Apple told CNET that the company is still working out the kinks in the beta service and the problem should be fixed soon.

"Our customers want to use Siri to … Read more

Apple removes anti-gay app from App Store

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice … Read more

Atlas of Birth: Mapping maternal health online

When social scientists at the University of Southampton began to map out global maternal health trends from United Nations and World Health Organization data, they were able to visualize several trends more clearly.

Working with the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and the University of Aberdeen, the researchers are producing online maps, a book, a short film, and more. They call it The Atlas of Birth project.

The Web site currently features 18 maps on topics ranging from literacy to genital mutilation to abortion; five case studies on women in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Senegal, and Yemen; and statistics on a … Read more

Google to display religious groups' anti-abortion ads

Google has agreed to display ads for anti-abortion messages from religious groups on its search site as part of an out-of-court settlement with a British Christian organization, the group said Wednesday.

The Christian Institute filed a legal action against Google in April, after the search giant rejected an anti-abortion ad from the group, citing its policy of not accepting ads that contain "abortion and religion-related content."

Lawyers for The Christian Institute alleged that Google's policy violated the United Kingdom's Equality Act of 2006, which prohibits religious discrimination in providing services.

In a statement, Google said: "… Read more

Politician who banned abortion-related Web sites dies

Henry Hyde, the former Illinois congressman who led attempts to impeach President Bill Clinton and was a longtime foe of abortion, died on Thursday. He was 83.

The Associated Press has already published an extensive obituary of Hyde, a Republican who retired from Congress at the end of the last session. What the AP doesn't mention is Hyde's authorship of a federal law--still on the books today--making it a felony to distribute information over the Internet that relates to obtaining an abortion.

Hyde's successful amendment to an unrelated telecommunications bill in 1996 extended the Comstock Law to &… Read more