Facebook shuts down abortion group's page for 'promotion or encouragement of drug use'

Just yesterday we wrote about the repeated closure of an atheist Facebook group by the social network. Now, in a similar act that has more than a slight whiff of censorship to it, Facebook has "unpublished" the page of Women On Web, a group that puts women who live in places that have abortion restrictions in contact with doctors.

The doctors that women are connected with can provide them with abortion pills, and it seems that because of this the group, Women On Web, has been found by Facebook to be engaged in the "promotion or encouragement of drug use". The group describes itself as "a place for the pro-abortion rights, pro-choice, and reproductive justice communities to engage in discussion and share news."

The Women On Web page disappeared from Facebook, but it has since been reinstated. Facebook has not made any comment about the removal or reinstatement, so it is not clear if the group suffered the same fate as Atheist Republic and was automatically removed after being repeatedly reported by those who found it objectionable.

A Facebook post by related group Women on Waves says:

Dear all, our sister organization @WomenOnWeb.IF has been unpublished by Facebook under the accusation of "encouragement of drug use"

Women on Web provides life-saving information to thousands of women worldwide. Its Facebook page publishes news, scientific information and the protocols of the World Health Organization and Women on Web has answered over half a million emails to women who needed scientific, accurate information essential for their health and life.

We expect Facebook will undue [sic] this action soon enough, as access to information is a human right.

It appears the prediction was correct, but it remains to be seen whether or not the page will be taken offline again.