Web Site Restores "Abortion" Search Term

Reproductive Health Site Funded By Gov't Was Slammed For Restricting Use Of Word In Searches

(AP)  The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has restored the word "abortion" as an acceptable search term on a reproductive health Web site funded by the government.

The move followed criticism from some health advocates and librarians that the restriction on searches about abortion amounted to censorship.

It was unclear why the restriction had been put in place. However, the United States Agency for International Development, which funds the site, denies funding to non-governmental organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a methods of family planning in other nations.

The policy began under President Ronald Reagan and was revived when President Bush took office in 2001. Some critics refer to it as the "Global Gag Rule."

After learning that the word "abortion" was being ignored by the search engine on the site known as POPLINE, Dr. Michael J. Klag, the dean of the Bloomberg school, ordered it restored. Klag said he'd begin an inquiry about why the decision was made to limit searches.

"I could not disagree more strongly with this decision, and I have directed that the POPLINE administrators restore 'abortion' as a search term immediately," Klag said in a statement. "The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and not its restriction."

USAID officials were at a retreat Friday and could not be reached for comment Friday or Saturday.

Klag said USAID found two items in the POPLINE database that were related to abortion advocacy. Agency officials asked that they be removed, and after that inquiry, POPLINE administrators decided to restrict abortion as a search term.

Gloria Won, a librarian at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, was one of those who sent e-mails to POPLINE administrators after having trouble with searches.

Won got this response from POPLINE administrator Debra L. Dickson: "Yes, we did make a change to POPLINE. We recently made all abortion words stop words. As a federally funded project, we decided this was best for now."

A "stop word" is a word that a search engine ignores; typically they are common words such as "a," "the" and "is."

Loriene Roy, president of the American Library Association, applauded Klag's action, saying the restriction denied "researchers, students and individuals on all sides of the issue access to accurate scientific information."

Wayne Shields, president and CEO of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, said in a statement that restricting access to the information could possibly jeopardize patient care, because it prevented doctors and women from linking to scientific literature on the topic.

"Removing abortion as a search term on a publicly funded reproductive health database is clearly a decision driven by ideology - and not based on the medical or scientific needs of the reproductive health professional community the database exists to serve," Shields said.

POPLINE stands for "population information online." The site is a free database containing citations and abstracts of scientific articles, reports and books about population, family planning and related health issues. It contains nearly 360,000 records.

[keithle1]

The world doesn''t have enough unwanted babies! We need more! Ban abortion! Ban all birth control! Bring on the babies!

[denn034]

Only liberals would consider this news.

[getcentered]

"Only liberals would consider this news."

You mean "pro-choice" people.......?

Do anti-abortion people think life begins at conception but ends at birth? COME ON!!

I don''t think philosophical grounds are enough to remove the right of a mother to make her own choice.....

Dems in 08.......

[idnnsg]

"Only liberals would consider this news" - denn034

I''m sure that the religious bigot who ordered the term to be removed from the search engine considers this to be "news". To him/her, it will be "bad news". In reality, it is very good news because continued censorhip of scientific/medical knowledge will lead us all into the Dark Ages.

BTW, denn034 has no clue what the word "liberal" means. All s/he knows is that s/he has been trained to hate anything and everything "liberal", just like Pavlov''s dogs were trained to salivate when he rang a bell. Woof! Woof!

[providence-3]

Hey lets just crack the skulls break the legs and also let us decapitate these defenseless babies. Where is congress, Supreme Court justices who would defend these helpless babies? Why would mothers cater to being self centered? Why would the fathers continue to be irresponsible? Where is the consciousness of America? I thought this was the land of the free not the dawn of the dead! Where are the voices to silence these crimes that are horrendous in our generation? Our liberty bell rings with an inscription on it %u201CProclaim liberty throughout all lands and to all the inhabitants thereof." Will America let the Liberty bell ring for these defenseless babies? Is the garbage can the only place for our children%u2019s babies? People cry what about the life of the mother. In today%u2019s world that%u2019s like saying how many angels can dance on the tip of a needle. We know of the technology health breakthroughs so it would b rare. We all know abortion caters to some choosing to be self centered. That%u2019s why the law should b for the equal right of the unborn baby who knows not of someone choice but the right to love and be loved. We cannot exclude the innocent babies. Some people want freedom 4 themselves not 2 B responsible! Which again is self centered. People who are self centered give way to other ideologies which can ruin our moral heritage. The thread that starts with destroying a life allows other threads to b destroyed allows even our constitution to b cast to ruin.

[providence-3]

5000 babies are murdered each year!

[getcentered]

Philosophical grounds are enough to remove the right of a mother to make her own choice.....

and furthermore.....

I don''t think that Republicans are willing as voters, to support the social systems necessary to avoid abortions within society; i.e. education, healthcare, and class equalization.

Dems in 08.......

[getcentered]

OPPS!!!

Philosophical grounds are NOT .....

enough to remove the right of a mother to make her own choice.....

[toolmangler-2009]

I''''m sure that the religious bigot who ordered the term to be removed from the search engine considers this to be "news". To him/her, it will be "bad news"
Posted by IDNNSG at 05:10 PM : Apr 05, 2008



So, ''only'' a ''religious bigot'' would want the word banned? How about the abortion clinics that didn''t want to attract a ''bombers'' frenzy? Get real, anybody could have sanctioned the removal of the word ''abortion'' from search engines, There are as many ''extremists'' on one side as the other.

[magoo2u1]

Tinytool posted:
"So, ''''only'''' a ''''religious bigot'''' would want the word banned? How about the abortion clinics that didn''''t want to attract a ''''bombers'''' frenzy?"

And I say YES it was an anti abotionist that had it removed. This wasn''t a phone book. Stop trying to make "think Nazis" sound normal. And you better watchout, the word just passed through your head and you may find yourself banned from your place of worship. Better get a "cranial scrub" before Sunday morning.

[joyous88]

the same evangelical filth that brougt us GW Bush

and the war in Iraq are not going to like this.

but hey, 25000, thats twenty five thousand children

die of starvation every day around the world.

The evangelicals must love all the kids they are sending to their god,

want more? vote McBushCain

[termtex01]

"25000, thats twenty five thousand children die of starvation every day around the world. The evangelicals must love all the kids they are sending to their god, want more? vote McBushCain

Posted by joyous88 at 06:34 PM : Apr 05, 2008"

So, you''re just like every other socilaist, communist, liberal. Everything is the President''s fault, even if it''s happening in other countries.

Why don''t you hold the leaders of those countries (Venezuala, for example) responsible for their own failings, little ambulance chaser?

[termtex01]

"I don''''t think that Republicans are willing as voters, to support the social systems necessary to avoid abortions within society; i.e. education, healthcare, and class equalization.

Dems in 08.......

Posted by getcentered at 05:53 PM : Apr 05, 2008"

Class equalization? Mastered at the Lenin School of Communism, did we? What does class equalization have to do it? And as for ''social systems'' you mean expanded welfare, right, don''t you? You want the government to solve your problems, rather than working and supporting yourself. Democrat principle all the way.

[joyous88]

abortion is nothing,

there is no child, no life, no nothing,

without some sort of a birth, ther never was and there

never will be, religious mad men want to control the bodies of women ,its as simple as that,

dirty evangelicals are in your bedroom, bush helps them spy on you,

the mindless christian vote brought you the war in iraq

[creeper00]

Let''s get these thugs out of our bedrooms, away from our telephones and off our backs.

I am sick of wingnuts imposing their morality on me. Abortion is legal. Denying its existence by refusing to use the term is idiocy.

[bgwinnett]

I''m catholic myself, but even I will admit that perhaps having over 6 Billion people on this small Planet is not wise.

[god_vs_self]

Posted by creeper00 at 07:29 PM : Apr 05, 2008

Your not afraid of morality you are afraid of self not getting what you want. This is called self centered!

[sgtrds]

Censor the word abortion? And this is supposed to help? What''s the idea behind that stupidity? "Let''s keep them ignorant." Oh that''s a brilliant idea! Everyone knows ignorant and uneducated kids do sooooooo much better in the real world!

[sgtrds]

The world doesn''''t have enough unwanted babies! We need more! Ban abortion! Ban all birth control! Bring on the babies!

Posted by Keithle1 at 04:39 PM : Apr 05, 2008

Then all the so-called "pro-life" types will be able to adopt as many as they please! Step right up pro-lifers! Get yourself an unwanted baby! This week we have a special on ones born to crack-addicted mothers for you to raise! Adopt one and you get the second one at half off! Can''t pass up a deal like that now can you! You wanted ''em, now you can put your actions where your mouth is and grow ''em yourself!

[god-vs-self-]

And you''''re called self-righteous. You really don''''t know anymore about what God wants than anyone else.

Posted by FloydZepp at 08:04 PM : Apr 05, 2008

Thats your answer for your self centeredness. Abortion is abortion is abortion.
No its called
Murder is murder is murder! Just because your informed to be responsible be responsible. Take accountability for your actions!

[sgtrds]

Welfare and the like.....SS, medical benifits.....I''''m for my tax dollar going to these things.............

Posted by getcentered at 09:05 PM : Apr 05, 2008

I agree. I have absolutely zero problem with being taxed to support programs like those. It''s having my taxes being used to fund an illegal and immoral war that bothers me. Bush and other republicans are always pushing for the line item veto so they can de-fund programs they just plain don''t like, well I think taxpayers should have the power of line item taxes and direct that my taxes only fund programs I DO like.

[ubrew12]

Article: "The move followed criticism from some health advocates and librarians that the restriction on searches about abortion amounted to censorship"

Duh, ya think!! What does not allowing photographs of coffins returning from Iraq amount to?

[sgtrds]

If you bought every 4-person family in the world a regular house, plus lawn, you could fit everyone in the world in the state of Texas. Of course, during commercial breaks during the SuperBowl, the Gulf of Mexico would get flooded.

Posted by ubrew12 at 09:27 PM : Apr 05, 2008

Where would you put all of the Mexican gardeners that it would take to mow all of those lawns?

;-)

[getcentered]

"well I think taxpayers should have the power of line item taxes and direct that my taxes only fund programs I DO like."
Posted by SgtRDS

Line item taxes...interesting.....just imagine what our country could have done with that 1.5 trillion.......I haven''t even began to understand how much money that is, in terms of schools and healthcare,etc.........we could''a dam near bailed out everyone with a housing problem......anything would have been better......

[cattlekate]

This story is unbelievable.

CBS - Please follow up with who gave the okay for the censorship.

[it_oldtimer]

Hopefully, after this next election, the fundamentalist wackos in our government will all be given their pink slips, and sanity will finally return.

[sgtrds]

Line item taxes...interesting.....just imagine what our country could have done with that 1.5 trillion.......I haven''''t even began to understand how much money that is, in terms of schools and healthcare,etc.........we could''''a dam near bailed out everyone with a housing problem......anything would have been better......

Posted by getcentered at 09:54 PM : Apr 05, 2008

RAmen. With line item taxes we could be living in utopia. And why not? After all, this is OUR country. Isn''t it about time we demanded the right to run it? Seems to me we''ve forgotten that they work for us, instead of the other way around.

[wango2007-2009]

Johns Hopkins doctors don''t mind promoting killing because it is legal, just like war. It''s also a big money-maker.

If anyone speaks out against the slaughter of the unborn, they are labelled as "Fundamentalits cranks'' by liberal blood thirsty ghouls. Since Roe vs Wade, over 40 million have died at the hands of doctors at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere.

Wade vs Rowe can be overturned. It must be overturned! The slaughtering of the next generation must end.

[hungry1968]

Won got this response from POPLINE administrator Debra L. Dickson: "Yes, we did make a change to POPLINE. We recently made all abortion words stop words. As a federally funded project, we decided this was best for now."

A "stop word" is a word that a search engine ignores; typically they are common words such as "a," "the" and "is."





In other words, "Since we''re a federally funded agency, we are fully within our capacity to censor certain words. Big brother is controlling you!!"

[hungry1968]

You Freakvannies are just p!ssed off because you can''''t control what everybody else does. Abortion isn''''t the issue, the issue is, you want to impose your beliefs onto everybody else.

Posted by FloydZepp at 06:31 AM : Apr 06, 2008





Well said Floyd.

[providence-6]

Abortion caters to choice? The choice of mothers choosing to be self centered? They could of not engaged in lewdness, saying no, or take the responsibility of a baby for saying yes. But she does not want to deal with the problem so the baby gets tossed in the garbage can!

[hungry1968]

Abortion caters to choice? The choice of mothers choosing to be self centered? They could of not engaged in lewdness, saying no, or take the responsibility of a baby for saying yes. But she does not want to deal with the problem so the baby gets tossed in the garbage can!

Posted by Providence-6 at 09:58 AM : Apr 06, 2008




If you don''t want an abortion, then don''t have one. If someone else wants to have one, or is deciding to have one, then mind your own friggin'' business.

It''s that simple.

[providence-6]

Where are the babies rights when someone say yes to have sxx and a baby comes along. Who is proclaiming the liberty for this baby? Where are his or her rights met, Oh we just want to cater to the mothers right to be self centered.

[providence-6]

The baby is a person to you know. With hopes and dreams in their infancy but most of all wanting to love and be loved. How can anyone in their right mind kill a baby wanting love?

[providence-6]

A lawyer should so on the behalf of the baby in the womb? When to people say yes to having sxx they are making a contract to what results from the union. So if a baby is conceived the baby has the rights guaranteed under the binding contract of the union. Another words the baby has rights as a person because of the union, agreement!

[hungry1968]

Where are the babies rights when someone say yes to have sxx and a baby comes along. Who is proclaiming the liberty for this baby? Where are his or her rights met, Oh we just want to cater to the mothers right to be self centered.

Posted by Providence-6 at 10:04 AM : Apr 06, 2008




It''s amazing how the "right" believes that life is so precious, and a miracle to behold while in the womb, but as soon as that baby is born, they are readily expendable in illegal wars of aggression.

[hungry1968]

A lawyer should so on the behalf of the baby in the womb? When to people say yes to having sxx they are making a contract to what results from the union. So if a baby is conceived the baby has the rights guaranteed under the binding contract of the union. Another words the baby has rights as a person because of the union, agreement!

Posted by Providence-6 at 10:17 AM : Apr 06, 2008





Maybe you lunatic fringe right wingers, shouldn''t be PREVENTING sxx education and contraceptives in the BIZARRE HOPE that by preaching abstinence, teens will quit having sxx.

People have been preaching abstinence for thousands of years and guess what? IT''S STILL NOT WORKING!!!!

[ssakoian]

I am always amazed about how precious life is to the baby, the unborn, and usually to men. However, what about the conceiving of that baby? Rape, incest, whatever. Or the health of the mother - that is patently unimportant -but wait! The mother is seriously ill, and being pregnant jeopardizes her health. Nonetheless, that fetus has more rights than she does - so, she must have that baby. She dies because of this pregnancy. Now, is someone guilty of murder? The mother? The physicians? God? And what about the family she leaves behind, children, husband, other family members who love and care? Hmmm.

[bgwinnett]

Whats next after abortion?
Euthanasia is my guess, it''ll be just like logan''s Run before we know it.

[keithle1]

The Pope & your local priest/nun will be more than happy to babysit your kids for you. It''s just what a Christian should do.

[keithle1]

There is NO reason why women in the USA should be getting pregnant if they don''t want to be.

If you''re stupid enough to let Super Stud get away with not using a condom then you need to be on some form of birth control. How tough is that to figure out? I thought women were as smart or smarter than men?

[down-ndirty]

It''''s amazing how the "right" believes that life is so precious, and a miracle to behold while in the womb, but as soon as that baby is born, they are readily expendable in illegal wars of aggression.
Posted by hungry1968 at 10:19 AM : Apr 06, 2008
--------------

I agree. Politics has killed thousands; but religion has killed hundreds of thousands, millions.

Those who ardently oppose the taking of embryonic life also seem to be more than enthusiastic about taking adult life. George Bush, for example, is typical of today''s religious ascendancy. He, and others like him, are stalwart defenders of embryonic (and terminally ill) life but think nothing of sacrificing those same lives in an unneeded war.

[bgwinnett]

It''''''''s amazing how the "right" believes that life is so precious, and a miracle to behold while in the womb, but as soon as that baby is born, they are readily expendable in illegal wars of aggression.
Posted by hungry1968 at 10:19 AM : Apr 06, 2008

Yeah and they allow people to bankrupt themselves to keep themselves or their loved ones alive, if they get ill through no fault of their or get run over by a drunk driver.To all you Wall St types the health service in the US is barbaric. BTW this isn''t an advocacy of Socialized Medicine, Look at England, just something fairer.

[fake-id-2009]

5000 babies are murdered each year!
Posted by Providence-3 at 05:42 PM : Apr 05, 2008

Thats what people believe but its 5000 babies murdered every day! Thrown right into the garbage can. If they are still alive they crawl on top of another dead baby and die!
Posted by Providence-3 at 05:45 PM : Apr 05, 2008
-------------------------

Such scare tactics!! You are obviously confused. 5000/day versus 5000/year is a mighty BIG difference!!

IF THEY ARE STILL ALIVE?? A fetus is NOT alive before about 14 weeks, it can''t move on its own; it can''t CRAWL; and it certainly can''t live on its own outside the womb.

Even English common law allowed abortion before the "quickening" of the fetus. Look it up.

[fake-id-2009]

As of 1980 you could have everyone in the world stand at arms length making a cluster of people which the city of Jacksonville Florida would house everyone. This is fact!
Posted by Providence-5 at 08:00 PM : Apr 05, 2008
-----------------------

????????????????

Now, that MUST make sense to a "right-wingnut!"

[hbevis]

There is NO reason why women in the USA should be getting pregnant if they don''''t want to be.

If you''re stupid enough to let Super Stud get away with not using a condom then you need to be on some form of birth control. How tough is that to figure out? I thought women were as smart or smarter than men?


Posted by Keithle1 at 11:19 AM : Apr 06, 2008
NOW THIS IS A VERY GOOD STATEMENT....... WHY INDEED DO THEY KEEP ON GETTING PREGNANT WHEN IT COULD BE AVOIDED VERY EASY. WHAT IS WRONG IS THAT SOME WOMEN ARE SO HUNGRY FOR SOMEONE TO LOVE THEM THAT THEY WILL LET A MAN DO ANYTHING. AND MANY MEN SAY THAT USING A CONDOM IS LIKE TAKING A SHOWER WITH A RAINCOAT ON. AND THE WOMAN LETS HIM GO AHEAD AND HAVE *** ANYWAY.. DUMB?? BUT, HOW DO YOU PUT A STOP TO IT??

[fake-id-2009]

You Freakvannies are just p!ssed off because you can''''t control what everybody else does. Abortion isn''''t the issue, the issue is, you want to impose your beliefs onto everybody else.
Posted by FloydZepp at 06:31 AM : Apr 06, 2008
--------------------

Closer to the truth than anything posted so far!

It''s the religion thing; the GOD delusion. When one person is deluded it''s called "insanity." When a group of people is deluded it''s called "religion."

These anti-abortion religious crackpots have been deluded ever since their first brain washing as a child.

[jimfinster]

World population is currently increasing at over 1 million per week! How long can this go on? I say we need more birth control, including abortions, not less.

[rohink-2009]

Whats next after abortion?
Euthanasia is my guess, it''''ll be just like logan''''s Run before we know it.

Posted by bgwinnett

*******
***********

Did you ever see the movie Soylent Green? With the aging baby boomers, global warming and over population, you never know.

Consequences when there is no regard for human life.

[jimfinster]

A lawyer should sue on the behalf of the baby in the womb? When two people say yes to having sxx they are making a contract to what results from the union. So if a baby is conceived the baby has the rights guaranteed under the binding contract of the union. Another words the baby has rights as a person because of the union, agreement!

Posted by God_vs_Self


That is nonsense. There is no "binding contract", unless the couple signs some sort of legal document to that effect. You are mixing moral judgments and legal terms together.