• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
MPW

How Google Maps Could Be Making It Harder for Women to Find Abortion Clinics

By
Grace Donnelly
Grace Donnelly
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Grace Donnelly
Grace Donnelly
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 15, 2018, 4:39 PM ET
Gynecological chair in gynecological room.
Gynecological chair in gynecological room.Nenov/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Patients seeking abortions may be misled by Google Maps in many parts of the U.S, according to a Gizmodo investigation.

Pro-life groups offering “abortion alternatives” have been using Google Maps to reach women who plan to terminate a pregnancy by classifying themselves as “women’s health centers” and ranking high for search terms like “abortion clinics near me,” according to Gizmodo.

Google Maps and abortion clinics

In states where clinics that provide abortions are scant or strictly regulated—women in South Dakota, for example, have to wait three days between an ultrasound and an abortion—crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are often more conveniently located.

A high school student recently took on the task of creating a comprehensive map of abortion clinics in the U.S. She noted the difficulty of verifying which clinic actually provided the procedure.

Many of the results in Google Maps describe themselves as “women’s health centers,” and while some of those facilities do perform abortions, many of them are faith-based, pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions or accurate information about patients’ options.

What are CPCs?

There are many more CPCs across the country than there are abortion clinics—3,000 CPCs versus 800 abortion clinics, according to recent estimates.

They often call themselves “women’s health centers” and advertise with vague phrases like “Think you are pregnant? Get answers,” or “Considering abortion?”. Many of the CPCs have no medical staff onsite. In some places, staff dress in medical uniforms to meet with patients, despite their lack of medical qualifications.

Using Google Maps to search for abortion clinics led users to CPCs about 79% of the time, according to research from NARAL Pro-Choice, an abortion rights group. The organization stopped Google from selling CPC-related ads in its search results in 2014, saying the ads violated the company’s policy against “misleading, inaccurate, and deceitful ads.”

But in Google Maps, CPCs are often still offered up to users searching for abortion services.

Using Google’s own instructions on how to improve rankings in the map view—like filling out all contact information, engaging with reviewers, and using the Google Business tools—CPCs are showing up in results ahead of actual abortion clinics.

“We’re looking into the issue flagged. We strive for business results that are relevant, accurate and help users find what they’re looking for,” Liz Davidoff, Communications Manager for Google Maps told Fortune in an email statement.

Why it matters

Multiple first-hand accounts and investigations have found that CPCs often give the women who come in for care inaccurate or blatantly false information about their options and the risks associated with abortions.

This means that many pregnant women seeking information, who may be unsure of their next steps, will be served Google Maps results directing them to CPCs that may keep patients from making fully-informed decisions.

While CPCs are mostly funded by the anti-abortion movement, many also receive taxpayer money from state governments.

What’s happening next

Some states have been regulating these centers for years.

In 2014, New York state upheld a law that requires CPCs to inform patients whether or not they have a licensed medical professional on staff.

A CPC-related case will make its way to the Supreme Court this summer in the first case about abortion to be heard by the court under the Trump administration.

The justices will consider an anti-abortion group’s challenge to a California law that requires CPCs to notify patients that the state offers subsidies for contraception and abortions.

A new report from the U.N. showed that the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. increased by 14% between 1990 and 2015. According to Demographic Intelligence and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American women are underserved both in access to contraception and access to fertility resources for prospective mothers.

About the Author
By Grace Donnelly
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

ice
PoliticsImmigration
ICE arrested a woman in a habit walking to mass, then released her after realizing she was a nun
By Valerie Gonzalez and The Associated PressJune 30, 2026
2 days ago
MacKenzie Scott (left); Elon Musk (right)
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: ‘Sadly,’ it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
3 days ago
swisher
Politicspodcasts
‘Podcasts are the NBA’: Scott Galloway on Kara Swisher’s big success — ‘there’s a small amount of people making a lot of money’
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
3 days ago
np
PoliticsColleges and Universities
Nancy Pelosi brings her legendary congressional knowhow to a new Berkeley institute with $35 million in funding
By Kevin Freking and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
3 days ago
Illustration of a bomb with the Bitcoin logo printed on it, against an orange background.
CryptoCryptocurrency
Bitcoin down 20% since May as Strategy fallout spooks investors
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 26, 2026
6 days ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
Newsletters
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
By Diane BradyJuly 1, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
23 hours ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
5 days ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.