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The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

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Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#11

Post by MilnerRoute »

sbierwagen wrote: post #2

>In this case, Burgess was 28 weeks pregnant, which is later in pregnancy than mifepristone and misoprostol are recommended for use. 28 weeks is, of course, 7 months. Third trimester elective abortion is illegal in the UK, Spain, France, Germany...

Interestingly, Motherboard says 28-week abortions are perfectly legal -- in about half of America. But Nebraska moved the line between legal and illegal by eight weeks, to 20 weeks. (For what it's worth, this all happened before the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, so that's the issue here: the state's own stricter 20-week deadline.)

The 17-year-old will be tried as an adult, on a felony and two misdemeanor charges.

Motherboard adds: "Facebook and other tech platforms have previously declined to say whether they would give law enforcement data that relates to abortion cases. This case shows that Facebook, at least, will and already has."

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#12

Post by washbrain »

joenot443 wrote: post #8

This is an incredibly sad story all around. The saddest part, to me, was that for whatever reason they chose to wait rather than legally ending the pregnancy much earlier. The fetus aborted was 28 weeks, or 7 months, and almost certainly viable.

The saddest part to me is that two women are going to face prison time, effectively ruining their lives.

Could the fetus have survived? Who could say. Would the fetus have had a good quality of life? Who could say. I can say for sure that two humans are experiencing something truly, truly awful and may be forced into enduring the awfulness for years to come.

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#13

Post by rcoveson »

sbierwagen wrote: post #2

>In this case, Burgess was 28 weeks pregnant, which is later in pregnancy than mifepristone and misoprostol are recommended for use. 28 weeks is, of course, 7 months. Third trimester elective abortion is illegal in the UK, Spain, France, Germany...

The overwhelming majority of babies delivered in a hostpital at 28 weeks survive. It would have had a It's tragic to think of the circumstances that drove somebody to this, but you could say that about any act of violence.

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#15

Post by gambiting »

MilnerRoute wrote: post #3
sbierwagen wrote: post #2

>In this case, Burgess was 28 weeks pregnant, which is later in pregnancy than mifepristone and misoprostol are recommended for use. 28 weeks is, of course, 7 months. Third trimester elective abortion is illegal in the UK, Spain, France, Germany...

I'm still really surprised. Surprised that a prosecution happened for a 17-year-old girl. And that Facebook gave that 17-year-old girl's private messages to the police to facilitate that prosecution.

I disagree with the entire idea of prosecution here, I think it's wrong, but I think we should recognize that Facebook was served with a lawful warrant for data here - surely we want facebook to obey the law in the countries they operate, and if a warrant is presented they should comply?

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#16

Post by newfonewhodis »

joenot443 wrote: post #8

This is an incredibly sad story all around. The saddest part, to me, was that for whatever reason they chose to wait rather than legally ending the pregnancy much earlier. The fetus aborted was 28 weeks, or 7 months, and almost certainly viable.

> The fetus aborted was 28 weeks, or 7 months, and almost certainly viable

Never surprises me that HN is full of world-class doctors who can provide a medical conclusion based simply on a news story.

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#17

Post by washbrain »

mlyle wrote: post #5
MilnerRoute wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still really surprised. Surprised that a prosecution happened for a 17-year-old girl. And that Facebook gave that 17-year-old girl's private messages to the police to facilitate that prosecution.

> Surprised that a prosecution happened for a 17-year-old girl. Yes, this is a total waste. Is this making the world a better place? > And that Facebook gave that 17-year-old girl's private messages to the police to facilitate that prosecution. I'm not surprised that Facebook complied with a lawfully issued search warrant.

The US justice system isn't about reformation or improving the country. It's a system designed to mete out punishment and revenge.

It is both deeply tragic and entirely typical that a case like this is progressing in the US.

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#18

Post by newfonewhodis »

Some points that folks on this thread are missing:

1. This is not a story about when a pregnancy can/should be terminated.

2. The person in this story is a child - 17 years old. Many times, what seems like normal weight gain ends up being a pregnancy. This is especially true for younger/skinnier folks.

3. Remove the hot-button issue - abortion - from this story and consider the implications. Two people were having what they thought was a private conversation.

HN crowd is not representative of the real world where FB/Messenger is essential AND where people don't understand privacy (and social) implications of using FB.

Re: The Data Facebook Gave Police to Prosecute a Teenager for Abortion

#19

Post by washbrain »

belval wrote: post #9

I'll preface this by saying that I am pro-choice, but 28 weeks is late, very late. > Survival rates for infants born at 28 weeks gestation is between 80-90 percent. Babies born at 28 weeks old only have a 10 percent chance of having long-term health problems.

You don't know the circumstances, though. I can imagine dozens of scenarios where someone would be forced or feel forced to wait this long, or experience a change in their life that makes them rethink carrying the fetus to term.

The victims here are the two people who are standing trial, and no amount of, "Welllllll buuuuut, it was pretty late... soooo..." changes the fact that two women will needlessly have their lives and reputations destroyed.

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