Abortions have always taken place, even when they have been illegal. But banning abortion in the age of online surveillance is something entirely new. Even though online data is anonymized, by combining a number of different data points, it’s possible for those with access to them to determine who the data belongs to. In the case of women, that can mean determining whether they’re pregnant or have had an abortion. Given that the state is both incapable and unwilling to protect online privacy – it is down to tech companies to act, limit their data collection, and protect the freedom of women, argues Nolen Gertz.

“Forced motherhood results in bringing miserable children into the world, children whose parents cannot feed them, who become victims of public assistance or ‘martyr children.’ It must be pointed out that the same society so determined to defend the rights of the fetus shows no interest in children after they are born; instead of trying to reform this scandalous institution called public assistance, society prosecutes abortionists…”