NARAL is not happy about the results on iPhones across the country with the new Siri technology that has come under fire for not including abortion clinics in results of questions related to abortion.
As LifeNews reporter Andrew Bair noted yesterday, abortion advocates were outraged to find that when Siri was asked questions related to abortion the phone responded with a list of pregnancy resource centers instead of local abortion facilities.
The story broke after abortion advocates tested the phone in New York City, the city New York magazine labeled “The Abortion Capital of America,” where over 40% of pregnancies end in abortion (according to the Department of Health). Despite the persistent efforts of abortion advocates to drown out the positive alternatives to abortion provided by pregnancy centers, the iPhone 4S has chosen to highlight them.
Although some pro-life advocates informed LifeNews after the news broke that their phones showed results for abortion clinics, the lack of results for some people and in some areas was enough for NARAL to launch an official complaint.
NARAL submitted the following letter today to Apple:
November 30, 2011
Tim Cook
CEO
Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
Dear Mr. Cook:
On behalf of our one-million member activists across the country, I would like to register my concern about reports regarding one of your iPhone applications. In some cases, Siri is not providing your customers with accurate or complete information about women’s reproductive-health services.
Siri is a great tool that mixes humor and sarcasm in responding to questions—and it is another example of how your company is on the cutting edge of demonstrating how technology can transform the way we share and access information. Thus, it is disappointing to read that a tool like Siri is missing the mark when it comes to providing information about such personal health issues as abortion care and contraception.
News reports have documented that, in some instances, Siri responded to a question concerning where to find abortion providers by directing an individual to anti-choice organizations known as “crisis pregnancy centers”(CPCs). Anti-choice groups created CPCs to look like comprehensive health clinics, but many do not provide women with accurate pregnancy-related information. This issue is especially important to us at NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, as our state affiliates in California, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia have produced reports that document these deceptive practices. Many of these centers are not up front about their anti-abortion, anti-contraception agenda when advertising online or in other channels. For instance, many CPCs do not disclose their bias to women who walk through their doors or call their toll-free lines seeking information. Ultimately, many of these centers can be harmful and do nothing to help women locate the services they requested from Siri.
Although Siri is not the principal resource for women’s health care, I hope you agree that it is important that the women who are using this application not be misled about their pregnancy-related options.
We would be happy to meet with members of your team who oversee the Siri application to go over our concerns in person. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Nancy Keenan, President
NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
As LifeNews’s Bair noted in his report, “In their protests of pregnancy resource centers, self-described pro-choice advocates reveal their true goal is not to provide women with authentic choices, but rather to defend abortion-on-demand. In state after state, abortion advocates have fought tooth and nail against informed consent before an abortion. Legislative proposals offering women scientifically accurate information about her pregnancy, including the chance to view ultrasound before an abortion, have been met with firm opposition.”
“A majority of women who have had abortions say they would have made a different decision had they possessed more information or known of other resources available. These women spend the rest of their lives suffering with regret, guilt and sometimes even mental and physical health problems as a result of the abortion they should never have had. We owe it to women everywhere to make them aware of the positive, life-affirming alternatives available to them,” Bair wrote.
