Australia’s largest abortion services provider hit with Google ad ban

Search giant Google has blocked ads from the country’s largest abortion provider, MSI Australia, for the last two weeks, claiming the ads violated its policies that are based on Australian law.

But a version of the ads are likely to be allowed to go live after questions from this masthead, pressure from MSI and a review by Google.

Australia has medical advertising laws that prohibit the promotion of prescription medicines, such as abortion-inducing pills, but allows medical services such as abortion clinics to promote themselves.

The ads that MSI, which is the country’s largest abortion provider, has wanted to run since December 3 include one for “Telehealth abortion clinic, supportive & caring staff”. Google previously reversed an inadvertent ban on similar abortion ads in 2019, blaming an unspecified “temporary issue”. MSI was previously known as Marie Stopes Australia.

On Thursday a Google spokesman said the company had longstanding rules on abortion-related ads.

“Abortion inducing drugs are not allowed to be marketed or promoted,” the spokesman said. “After reviewing the ads in question, we are working intently with the advertiser to clarify some minor amendments that will enable them to run policy compliant ads again as soon as possible.”

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The non-profit’s boss, Jamal Hakim, said before the pending reversal that the ban was like the film Groundhog Day. “We are sick and tired of advertising policies being misinterpreted and restricting the ability of people to find accurate and compassionate information about abortion,” Hakim said in a statement. “When Google bans promoting health information about abortion, anti-choice organisations ads often run in place, providing inaccurate information and unsupportive traumatising advice.”

An image of MSI’s Google ads dashboard, sent to this masthead, says “Ad violates policy and can’t run: abortion. Not allowed in Australia” with a link to the search giant’s ad policy. But that policy does not include Australia on the list of countries where abortion advertisements are prohibited.

Countries such as India, Singapore and Spain are on the list.

MSI’s head of nursing, Fiona Gerrard, estimated a ban on abortion Google search ads in Australia would affect about 700 to 1500 people nationwide across multiple providers.

Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney provided a one-line statement on the dispute: “Every Australian deserves access to reproductive healthcare, including information about termination services.”

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