Leak of Dobbs opinion brought deluge of online searches for abortion pills, study finds

The study closely follows a seismic ruling from the US supreme court, in which the conservative supermajority overturned the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v Wade and found there is no constitutional right to abortion.

The decision left states free to regulate the procedure as they see fit. That has led eight states to banning abortion immediately and almost entirely, including several without exception for rape and incest. Experts predict as many as 26 states in total are certain or likely to seek to ban abortion.

Technology companies have quickly become a focus of the abortion debate as policies change rapidly across the United States.

Facebook and Instagram, both owned by the company Meta, have been criticized for removing posts that offered to mail abortion medication to women in states where abortion is illegal.

Privacy advocates have warned internet searches and other mobile phone data could be used against women by zealous police and prosecutors. Further, users of period tracking apps have begun to delete software as some worry the data could be used against them.