Motherboard

NEW: We've obtained court documents that show Facebook gave police a Nebraska teenager’s private chats about her abortion, then used those chats to seize her phone and computer. https://t.co/7pQT5ag4DH

A 17-year-old girl and her mother have been charged with a series of felonies and misdemeanors after an apparent at-home abortion in Nebraska.

The state's case against the pair relies on evidence obtained directly from Facebook via court order. https://trib.al/zDTjuie

Facebook handed over the teenager's private messages that show that she and her mother allegedly bought medication to induce abortion online, and then disposed of the fetus. https://trib.al/zDTjuie

According to court records, the teenager and her mother bought medication called Pregnot designed to end pregnancy.

Pregnot is a kit of mifepristone and misoprostol, which is often used to safely end pregnancy in the first trimester. https://trib.al/zDTjuie

The teen was 28 weeks along, which is later than Nebraska's 20-week abortion ban (abortion at 28 weeks is legal in about half the country; Nebraska's abortion laws have not changed Roe v Wade was overturned). https://trib.al/zDTjuie

The teen's mother is charged with five crimes (three of which are felonies)

The teen is charged with one felony and two misdemeanors. https://trib.al/zDTjuie

Here's one page of the messages Facebook handed over to the police. https://trib.al/zDTjuie https://t.co/bqCh5mZ0nT

While the docs allege that the abortion took place before Roe v Wade was overturned. they show in shocking detail how abortion could and will be prosecuted in the US, and how tech companies will be enlisted by law enforcement to help prosecute their cases. https://trib.al/zDTjuie

More here on the data Facebook turned over to law enforcement to prosecute a teenager for abortion. https://trib.al/zDTjuie https://t.co/lnXSOSjDIB

Tue Aug 09 19:13:06 +0000 2022