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April 04, 2008, 04:56 PM ET
'Abortion' Searches Are No Longer Blocked, Says Johns Hopkins U.
The Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health has reversed itself and will no longer block searches for the term “abortion” in its popular public health database Popline. Searches for the word had been blocked because of concerns over federal financing.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, which finances Popline and is legally prohibited from “supporting or encouraging abortion as a method of family planning,” had objected to two abortion-related items in the database, the university said. Database administrators then decided to make “abortion” a stop word in searches about seven weeks ago.
Michael J. Klag, the school’s dean, said in a prepared statement today that he “could not disagree more strongly” with the decision. He is having the block reversed and will hold an inquiry into the matter.
Gloria Won, the librarian who first noticed that something was awry with the database last Monday, said she was pleased with the reversal. She said she had been “disturbed” by the decision to block “such a useful word,” and had encouraged library associations and medical organizations to contact the university.
Some medical researchers argue that U.S. policies on reproductive-health programs may encourage censorship. The policies create “a chill on the overall willingness and enthusiasm for researchers to tackle this topic,” said Janie Benson, vice president for research and evaluation at Ipas, an international women’s reproductive health group that promotes abortion rights.
The Agency for International Development did not return calls seeking comment.—Catherine Rampell
Categories: Search-Engines, Libraries
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