In Nebraska, a 17-year-old girl is accused of having an illegal abortion. A case proven on the basis of online conversations reported by the social network to the authorities.
Amidst the controversy over abortion rights in the US, Facebook has to face heavy criticism. On Tuesday, August 9, several US media outlets reported that a 17-year-old girl named Celeste Burgess is being pursued by law enforcement in Nebraska for secretly performing a drug abortion at twenty-eight weeks pregnant. In this central US state, the legal term is set at 20 weeks (compared to 14 in France). The facts date back to before the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision. vs Wade, on June 24, which established the right to abortion in the United States.
In the video, a demonstration in front of the United States Supreme Court promoting abortion rights
The young woman was charged thanks to social media tycoons Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram. that Lincoln Journal Star Local media in Nebraska reported that authorities applied for a search warrant to gain access to the teenager’s Messenger conversations and thus allow him to be arrested. Police also charged his mother, Jessica Burgess. The 41-year-old woman is accused of helping her daughter by buying abortion pills and telling her what to do. In online chats, they also reportedly discussed where to bury the fetus after burning it.
A wave of outrage
The incident sparked a wave of outrage among Americans, with many users condemning the social network’s responsibility for the young woman’s arrest, even though the entire country has been divided over the cancellation of this fundamental right for women. “Facebook… it’s not good. I don’t know what legal arguments and what negotiations took place to make this happen,” wrote one of the users on Twitter. And another: “Facebook reveals its true face. In #USA, women being pursued for abortions are being discovered by the police because of their conversation.”
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The Meta group, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, defended itself in a press release, denying that this information was passed on as part of an investigation into illegal abortion. “Oder was dealing with allegations related to a criminal investigation, and court documents show that police at the time were investigating the case of a stillborn baby that had been burned and buried, not a decision to terminate a pregnancy,” the company said. The teenager is due to be tried in the coming months for “illegal abortion, self-inflicted abortion and kidnapping, hiding or leaving a human corpse.”
Source: Le Figaro
