In South Carolina, a bill wants to make the dissemination of abortion information illegal

Almost a month after the revocation of the sentence Eggs versus wading which guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States, the Republican majority Senate of South Carolina is considering a bill that would forbid any help led to a person who would try to resort to abortion and who in particular would censor the sharing of information on the Internet.

A bill to block abortion information

Bill S. 1373 would not only make it illegal to abort, but also do it’offer information on how to access an abortion, on the internet or by phone. It would be against the law to host a website or ” offer any service on the Internet »Providing information they could “ reasonably likely to be used for an abortion for pregnant people in the state.

According to the Washington Post, many scholars view the bill as a harbinger of other measures that would seek to do so limit communication and expression around abortion. This bill would also be based on a model created by an anti-abortion group (National Committee for the Right to Life), And made to be reproduced by the legislator anywhere in the country without difficulty.

Place of large-scale exchange and transmission of information, the freedom and protection of private data on the Internet is an important issue in the face of the decline of the right to abortion in the United States. While women’s rights to control their bodies vary from state to state, access to reliable guidance on what to do in the event of an unwanted pregnancy it can save lives.

The question of freedom of expression on the Internet

Interviewed by the Washington Post, the director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy of the Irvine School of Law, Michele Goodwin, points out that this bill is unconstitutional. But in the face of the inaction of some courts on the question of the right to abortion, even before dismissal Eggs versus wading, warns that it is not possible to predict the reaction of the judicial bodies in charge. This uncertainty works in favor of censorship, as the fear of becoming illegal could lead websites and companies to withdraw information on abortion even before the law is formalized.

Plus, that’s the real question freedom of expression on the Internet that was born with this bill. In the land of the First Amendment, voting for such a measure would bring with it many other questions, such as the responsibility of tech companies in sharing this information, collecting conversation stories and private data in investigations, and sanctions to which subjects who would transmit information on abortions that are now illegal would be exposed.

If the measure has not yet been voted on, the National Committee for the Right to Lifewho set the model for this bill, said limiting communication on abortion was part of their battle to tighten the bans and restrictions already in place in the United States.

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