GoFund yourself

Last week, crowdfunding platform GoFundMe pulled a campaign to raise money for an Illinois woman’s abortion. In a message to the woman, identified only as Bailey, GoFundMe said that the fundraiser was not “appropriate” for the site because it contained “subject matter that GoFundMe would rather not be associated with.” In an earlier comment to Salon on its decision to shutdown the campaign, a “customer happiness” representative said that each review is handled on a “case-by-case basis” and, “In this particular case, GoFundMe determined that the fundraising campaign titled ‘Bailey’s Abortion Fund’ would be removed from the site.”

But as of this week, the site will no longer handle campaigns to fund abortion on a case-by-case basis. According to GoFundMe’s updated guidelines (“What’s Not Allowed on GoFundMe“), abortion fundraisers are banned without exception. In addition to prohibiting crowdfunded abortion campaigns, “content associated with or relating to” abortion is also banned. This information is listed under the headline, “Termination of Life,” which is the same language used by antiabortion activists who believe in fetal personhood. (The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines abortion as “a procedure that is done to end a pregnancy.”) In fact, GoFundMe has a separate section outlining which medical campaigns are prohibited, but abortion is not listed in it.

But the ban on abortion-related content has not been neutrally applied. As of Wednesday afternoon, there are still pages of antiabortion campaigns active on the site. It seems that you can’t use GoFundMe to raise money for anything related to abortion — unless you’re campaigning to ban abortion.

One campaign that raised $1,510 of its $1,700 goal described its mission as “Advocating for Women & Girls at the UN,” and informed potential donors, “Your donation will help spread the word of more atrocities that take place in American abortion clinics.”