Yelp, ostensibly an online business directory, is the latest Big Tech firm to choose a side in the ongoing schism that has followed the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The company has made the decision to deliberately and negatively flag crisis pregnancy centers in order to actively dissuade women from seeking their services.
Starting Tuesday, both the Yelp website and mobile application will apply a flag or notice to both religious and secular crisis pregnancy centers with what they describe as a “consumer notice” about limitations in the services available there, according to Axios.
“This is a Crisis Pregnancy Center,” the notice posted to CPCs read. “Crisis Pregnancy Centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.”
This move came four years after Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman directed the company to differentiate CPCs from abortion clinics in its listings. Yelp consequently reclassified thousands of pregnancy service providers as “crisis pregnancy centers.”
Noorie Malik, Yelp’s VP of user operations, told Axios in an e-mail, “After learning about the misleading nature of crisis pregnancy centers back in 2018, I’m grateful Yelp stands behind these efforts to provide consumers with access to reliable information about reproductive health services.”
“It has always felt unjust to me that there are clinics in the U.S. that provide misleading information or conduct deceptive tactics to steer pregnant people away from abortion care if that’s the path they choose to take,” Malik added.
Responses to the change have been varied, but a few standouts include Mary Margaret Olohan, D.C. Correspondent with The Daily Wire who tweeted, “WOW: in a post Roe world, where it is harder for women to get abortions, Yelp is actively turning women away from crisis pregnancy centers that would offer them help, assistance, and empower them to carry their unborn child to term.”
WOW: in a post Roe world, where it is harder for women to get abortions, Yelp is actively turning women away from crisis pregnancy centers that would offer them help, assistance, and empower them to carry their unborn child to term. https://t.co/qYGBpa7Grs
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) August 23, 2022
Will you continue to use Yelp?
Yes: 2% (1 Votes)
No: 98% (48 Votes)
Republican Congresswoman Debbie Lesko of Arizona wrote, “Yelp is now flagging crisis pregnancy centers in an active effort to steer women away from them and push the radical abortion agenda of the Far-Left. Women deserve better than pro-abortion lies.”
🚨Yelp is now flagging crisis pregnancy centers in an active effort to steer women away from them and push the radical abortion agenda of the Far-Left. Women deserve better than pro-abortion lies.https://t.co/iiR6lkAR4b
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) August 23, 2022
The determination by the Big Tech company seems to be in line with the pro-abortion talking points attempting to delegitimize crisis pregnancy centers.
Easthampton, Mass.: On Aug. 17 or 18, far-left pro-abortion terror group Jane’s Revenge carried out an attack on the Bethlehem House Inc. Pregnancy Care Center. They left a threat on the property. Reporting by @Virginia_Allen5. #Antifa https://t.co/0g5OJ6QXUu pic.twitter.com/OYqHVYsFYa
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 19, 2022
Given the recently escalating attacks upon crisis pregnancy centers from pro-abortion arsonists and vandals, the move could exacerbate the situation by enabling groups like Jane’s Revenge to more easily target them.
