Our Anti-Abortion, AI Dystopia

7.28.26

THE QUICK & DIRTY:

Our Anti-Abortion Dystopia: AI is directing users to anti-choice websites & orgs

Ballot Box: the Arizona gubernatorial race heats up, anti-abortion MAGA takes on South Carolina, checking in on Maine & more

Supporting the Next Generation of OBGYNs: A new bill would help medical students traveling out-of-state for abortion training

Anti-Abortion Corruption Watch: Florida Sen. Ashley Moody & the missing Medicaid funds

Around the World: a UN resolution and worsening global maternal outcomes—thanks to Trump

Our Anti-Abortion Dystopia

Abortion, Every Day just had an illuminating conversation with Repro Uncensored’s Martha Dimitratou—and during that conversation, Dimitratou raised that data shows “a 100% increase in people searching for abortion information through AI platforms like Claude and ChatGPT in restrictive states.”

So, what does it mean for abortion access when AI platforms are directing users to anti-abortion sources? Open Democracy’s team of international investigative journalists tested that question in the UK, Germany, and Italy, looking at ChatGPT-5, Claude Sonnet 4.8, Gemini 3, and Grok 4.3:

“We found that all four chatbots presented women with information from at least one anti-abortion advocacy organization that discourages [abortion] and promotes misinformation about reproductive healthcare.”

Just as bad, the outlet warns that each AI platform represented anti-abortion organizations “as a legitimate source of information.”

In some cases, these AI platforms directed prospective abortion seekers to the Italian group ProFemina—an affiliate to the extremist Heartbeat International. Heartbeat, the largest network of crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S. and globe, is known for collecting (and sharing) women’s private health data and recently partnered with ‘abolitionists’ who want abortion patients to be charged with murder.

There’s no world in which abortion seekers on AI platforms should be directed to any group affiliated with Heartbeat International. So why is it happening?

Open Democracy reports that anti-abortion groups and websites can have an automatic advantage when it comes to AI search results. Medical institutions and health groups “have fewer resources or incentives to optimise their content for algorithmic discovery,” while anti-abortion groups “have historically built extensive online ecosystems… flooding the internet with well-tagged content.”

The Campaign for Accountability found the same in a similar report last year—users were overwhelmingly directed to Heartbeat International, because CPCs have spent years gaming Google searches. That flood of content makes their sites more likely to be scraped by AI.

And as one expert warned Open Democracy: “The difficulty is that many people are likely to assume the answers are objective and complete.”

Extra credit: Mashable did a deep dive into ChatGPT and abortion last year that’s well-worth a read.

Ballot Box: Arizona, South Carolina, Maine & More

The Arizona gubernatorial race is set: Gov. Katie Hobbs, a staunch advocate for abortion rights, will face off against GOP Rep. Andy Biggs. If Biggs’ name sounds familiar, he’s an insurrectionist who’s proposed a national abortion ban four separate times, and has repeatedly suggested Donald Trump should be allowed to serve a third term.

What does that mean for Arizona? In 2024, voters decisively enshrined abortion rights in the constitution. But the state’s numerous abortion restrictions remain in hot legal contention, as GOP lawmakers consistently introduce and pass additional anti-abortion legislation. In other words, abortion rights in the state remain precarious, and electing an anti-abortion extremist as governor threatens the state’s hard-won protections.

Doctors, specifically, are speaking out against Biggs’ gubernatorial bid. OBGYN Dr. Danielle Allen-Herried told the Arizona Mirror voters “have to be vigilant against attempts from state leaders to chip away at that right.” One pediatrician pointed to Biggs’ support for last year’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which defunded Planned Parenthood and gutted Medicaid, and called Biggs’ vote disqualifying.

Remember, abortion is top of mind for Arizona voters for a reason: before the state’s ballot measure vote, the state Supreme Court enacted an abortion ban from 1864. The backlash was swift—and national. Even Trump spoke out against the ban (not because he cared, but because he was worried about what voters’ ire would do to his then-campaign.) Eventually, a few GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in repealing the Civil War-era law.

The Arizona Tipping Point

A special election is being held in South Carolina to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham: a primary will take place on August 11th, with acting Sen. Darline Graham running to replace her brother. Darline has Trump’s backing—so why are MAGA hardliners revolting against her? Because of abortion, of course!

Back in 2020, Darline donated $100 to then-state Sen. Katrina Shealy—most famous for filibustering against the state’s abortion ban back in 2023. Shealy joined forces with other female legislators who became known as a ‘sisterhood’ for resisting South Carolina’s ban. There was nothing especially pro-choice about Shealy’s move: she still supported an abortion ban, but with a couple minor, hypothetical exceptions.

Nevertheless, the South Carolina GOP’s extremism was made abundantly clear by their ferocious response to the “sister senators”: they refused to give the women re-election resources, campaigned against them, and effectively ensured they’d lose their seats.

Now, Darline is furiously distancing herself from Shealy, tweeting last week:

“For years, I’ve committed my life to fighting for vulnerable populations, and no one is more vulnerable than an unborn child who cannot speak for themselves. As a mother, I know that welcoming children into this world is God’s greatest gift. I’m proud to be pro-life.”

That hasn’t stopped some MAGA influencers from referring to her $100 donation as “disqualifying” and railing against her online. TBD if Trump weighs in on any of this mess.

Over in Maine, all eyes have been on the state’s contentious U.S. Senate race—but let’s also pay attention to the governor’s race, which could be closer than expected. Democratic nominee Hannah Pingree will face off against Republican anti-abortion extremist Bobby Charles and Independent, former Republican Rick Bennett.

Last week, Planned Parenthood issued a crucial endorsement of Pingree as the “one person” in the race “we can trust to lead our state, protect our rights and safeguard access to basic essential lifesaving healthcare.” Pingree committed to enshrining abortion rights in the state’s Constitution if elected, explaining:

“Governors are truly the firewall. A governor has to stand up and say not in my state and not while I’m in charge. You cannot do this to us here in Maine.”

Charles frustratingly waved off Pingree’s classification of him as “an anti-abortion extremist” by insisting that he’s “focused on kitchen table issues: cutting taxes, lowering energy bills.” Of course, I can’t stress this enough: abortion access—like all health care access—is a “kitchen table issue” with massive ramifications for the economic well-being of women, men, families, and the nation.

Quick hits:

• Abortion is emerging as a central issue in the Wisconsin governor’s race, amid lingering questions about the state’s dormant 1849 abortion ban and aggressive anti-abortion positions from GOP frontrunner Tom Tiffany;

• In Maine, Susan Collins can’t run from her pivotal role in killing Roe v. Wade during her bid for reelection;

• GOP Rep. Mike Collins, running for governor in Georgia with Trump’s blessing, isn’t just an anti-abortion extremist who opposes exceptions—he also has close ties to a prominent white nationalist influencer.

Supporting the Next Generation of OBGYNs

Last month, AED told you about the SAFE Training for OBGYNs Act—legislation that establishes funding for programs that train OBGYN residents coming from banned states. Because medical schools in these states can’t offer abortion training, students and residents are being forced to travel out-of-state—often on their own dime—to learn how to provide the full spectrum of reproductive health care. No wonder medical students—female students, especially—are avoiding banned states.

The crisis of abortion bans sabotaging the future of public health in this country is even worse than we know.

Legislation co-sponsor Rep. Kelly Morrison spoke to Minnesota Public Radio about the bill, noting that abortion laws are constantly changing: abortion might be legal when a student becomes a resident, only for the legislature to enact a ban a month later:

“The ability for residents and other trainees to be able to travel to locations where they can actually learn the right way to provide this type of care is critical in making sure that we have a competent workforce.”

Her bill, Morrison said, could alleviate a future crisis of a generation of doctors simply not knowing how to provide emergency abortions or miscarriage care, or a nationwide OBGYN desert. And in a moment when there’s been a decrease in medical school and residency applications in anti-abortion states, “Residents and medical students aren’t wanting to learn in places where they’re not going to actually learn the right way to do things and learn the standard of care.”

Have your representatives expressed support for the SAFE Training for OB-GYNs Act yet?

“This administration has shown that they are willing to go after funders if they don’t like what they’re funding, and for ideological reasons. This is the long game. We need multiple strategies to make sure that people get funding support.”

- Serra Sippel, executive director of Brigid Alliance, to Inside Philanthropy

Anti-Abortion Corruption Watch

Last year, we learned that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top GOP officials had effectively laundered tens of millions in funds for poor children to bankroll an anti-abortion campaign against the pro-choice Amendment 4. Instead of going to needy Floridians, the Miami Herald reported at the time, “it paid for political consultants, lawyers and thousands of advertisements that helped DeSantis and his supporters win at the ballot box.”

A crucial player in the whole debacle? Then-Attorney General Ashley Moody, who approved the diversion of the $10 million from Medicaid expansion to “Hope Florida Foundation,” which then funded anti-abortion ads. CBS News notes that Moody took these actions “without placing any of the safeguards or guardrails her office would typically require to make sure the money was properly spent.” One GOP state representative called this “money laundering.”

But by January 2025, DeSantis appointed Moody to the U.S. Senate, citing her strong opposition to Amendment 4. James Uthmeier, who replaced Moody as state AG, has called the controversy a “nothing burger.”

Moody, to this day, has yet to comment at all on any of this, or answer the following questions from CBS:

“When her office approved the diversion of the $10 million, did Moody know the money was going to be used for political purposes? Did she ever talk to the governor or anyone on his team about it?

Does she think it was appropriate for money intended to expand Medicaid for children to end up in a political campaign instead? In other words, does she agree with Uthmeier that this is all a big nothing burger?”

This wasn’t even the only scandal surrounding DeSantis’ aggressive crusade against Amendment 4. DeSantis also threatened and intimidated local news stations that played pro-Amendment 4 ads, and sent police to the homes of voters who signed onto a petition supporting the measure. Amendment 4 received 57% of the vote—falling short of the 60% threshold for ballot measures to pass in Florida.

As we head into another election cycle with key abortion rights amendments on the ballot in several states, remember: anti-abortion extremists will stop at nothing and engage in any level of dishonesty and corruption to stop these measures. The GOP doesn’t care what voters want; they don’t care about democracy.

Around the World

This month, the United Nations released a resolution calling forced pregnancy what it is: reproductive violence. That makes abortion bans—you guessed it—reproductive violence.

Rising maternal mortality from bans, and horrific headlines about women killed or pushed to the brink of death by being denied care, have long laid bare the violence innate to anti-abortion laws. But experts in gender-based violence also point to the resolution as an important statement on how abortion bans also mirror abusers.

Dr. Diana Pulido of International Planned Parenthood Federation praised the resolution for “[making] visible a distinct and devastating form of harm that has too often gone unrecognized.”

“Survivors can now name what happened to them in language the system finally recognizes,” she said.

As Ms. magazine’s Carrie Baker notes, forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will is clearly assault.

“The core of rape is the violation of consent—taking control of another person’s body and forcing them to submit. Abortion bans likewise hijack a person’s body, stripping them of their bodily integrity and self-determination.”

Relatedly: the Associated Press reports that the Trump administration’s decision to slash global funding for groups that so much as mention abortion has had dire consequences—particularly across Africa. Reporter Monika Pronczuk writes,

“Because of the combined effect of these restrictions on funding and emboldened action from anti-abortion groups, more women are going to seek illicit abortions and ultimately, more women are going to die.”

The Trump administration is directly fueling worsened maternal health outcomes abroad—from Kenya to Gaza, where medical authorities report 3,958 miscarriages among pregnant women in the first half of 2026 alone. The Palestinian Feminist Collective has termed this “reproductive genocide.”