Several websites that claim to provide abortion information are accused of spreading false data and using manipulation tactics to discourage women from seeking legal procedures. The alarm was raised by content creator Ilinca Urse, who says she has tested first-hand how such platforms communicate with the public.
The young woman says she contacted an anti-abortion organization and posed as a woman seeking information about abortion to see what responses she received. According to her, the information was alarmist and, in some cases, contradicts official medical data.
“They told me that the risk of not being able to get pregnant is very high. False. Legal abortion, done correctly, is very safe. The ones that are not safe are those in countries where abortion is inaccessible,” she explains, in a video posted on Instagram.
She claims that the discussion continued in the same direction, with claims that she considers misinformation. “They told me that abortion increases the risk of cancer 2-3 times. False. (…) That abortion frequently leads to ectopic pregnancy. False,” she added.
In addition to these statements, he says that the interlocutors also resorted to materials intended to shock.
“Seconds later, they sent me absolutely horrible, propagandistic images that I can’t put here. They continued with extremely problematic messages.”
After these interactions, the young woman states that she notified the authorities, citing the fact that the sites present themselves as sources of information, without providing transparency.
“I have filed a complaint with the police and the ANPC. I would like this website of the organization I contacted to be taken down and there is a precedent.”
The case raises questions about how abortion information is presented online and the lack of control over platforms that directly address people in vulnerable situations.
“Authorities providing support in this regard should send a clear message to women in this vulnerable situation, avoiding ambivalent messages”clinical psychologist Andra Marina Ionescu draws attention.
The decision is not only made rationally
“Abortion isn’t just about opinions. It’s about fear, shame, identity, belonging, and a human vulnerability that’s hard to put into words.”explains Gabriela Marc, principal clinical psychologist and associate university lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, for “Adevărul”.
In his opinion, many of the messages built on this topic do not aim to clarify, but directly touch sensitive areas where responsibility, the fear of making mistakes and the need to do “what is good”.
“They don’t just speak their mind, they quickly get emotional, where decisions become less about analysis and more about dealing with an inner tension.” she adds.
The psychologist shows that, in such contexts, they appear every time: guilt before the choice, fear of regret or the pressure of an ideal image of motherhood. “They’re not just arguments, they’re subtle forms of touching on what’s already sensitive.”
Gabriela Marc draws attention to the difference between support and influence. Real counseling involves a space where the person can reflect without pressure, while emotionally constructed messages reduce this space and push the person to make a decision quickly ahead.
“The moment the emotional reaction becomes so strong that the reflection can no longer be sustained, the line between support and manipulation begins to blur.” supports the specialist.
According to her, language and images have a decisive role, because they activate immediate reactions and reduce the ability to analyze. “In this state, the person no longer explores his options, but seeks to quickly reduce discomfort.”
How thinking is influenced, not just emotion
And Laura Găvan, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, explains that the impact of these messages does not stop at the emotional level, but reaches directly into the way people think and make their decisions.
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In his view, such messages activate automatic reactions – already formed thoughts, emotions and patterns – which means that their effect is not just about the information conveyed, but how it is interpreted.
An often used mechanism, for example, is the appeal to intense emotions, such as fear or guilt, which simplify reality and push to quick conclusions.
“Cognitive distortions appear such as catastrophizing – “you will regret it all your life”-, black-and-white thinking – “it’s either right or wrong” – or labeling – “a good person wouldn’t do this””emphasizes the psychotherapist.
In such situations, she says, the capacity for analysis decreases, and people become more prone to accept ideas without checking them.
The focus is no longer on the emotion itself, but on how the thinking is oriented from the outside. The difference between advising and influencing becomes essential.
“Authentic counseling supports autonomy and provides balanced information. Influence, on the other hand, subtly directs the decision, using information selection and emotional charge,Laura Găvan also says
Manipulation occurs when emotions are used to reduce critical thinking and push the person toward a particular choice.
Language, in turn, has a decisive role, because it activates different reactions depending on how the message is formulated. “Phrases such as ‘saving the child’ or ‘women’s rights’ activate different mental frames. It is not only the information that matters, but also the way it is presented”, adds the psychotherapist.
The same mechanism is used with dramatic images or stories, which bypass analysis and trigger immediate reactions. “They generate quick reactions and create persistent mental images that are difficult to counter with logical arguments.”
The psychotherapist emphasizes that vulnerability increases in crisis situations, such as an unwanted pregnancy, when emotional pressure is high and the need to make a quick decision becomes stronger.
In this context, emotionally charged messages can more easily influence the direction of choice, because they offer apparent clarity in a complicated situation. “The purpose is not to dictate a decision, but to support clear and conscious thinking.”
On Reddit, reactions are almost unanimously critical
Discussions of the anti-abortion protests also provoke strong reactions online. On Reddit, r/Romania, in a discussion started from an image of an anti-abortion protest in front of a maternity ward, participants criticized both the protest itself and the arguments used by its supporters.
One of the ideas that comes up most often is the charge of hypocrisy. Several users say that those calling for a ban on abortion do not seem interested in what happens after birth, especially in cases where women do not have the resources to raise a child.
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“It’s important to give birth to him, that’s how she manages because she’s young,” writes one user wryly. Someone else goes further and questions the concrete help such groups provide to women in crisis. “I wonder what they have done to help pregnant women. Have they given moral support to any pregnant woman? Have they ever helped a mother without financial means to raise her child?”
In several comments also appears the idea that banning abortion does not solve the problem, but only moves it to more dangerous areas. For example, one user writes that people will continue to have abortions regardless of restrictions, but the difference is whether they do it safely or not. Another directly recalls the communist period and the consequences of clandestine abortions. “The world is going to have abortions whether it’s legal or not, the difference is that now you can do it safely.”
Some commenters say the real problem is not abortion itself, but a lack of sex education and access to contraception. On this note, protests are seen as a form of moral pressure that avoids the very solutions that could reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. “Sex education we don’t want to learn… We stop abortions by familiarizing with contraception”, someone else writes.
“You don’t want an abortion, don’t do it. Stay out of other people’s lives and mind your own.” adds another user, in one of the top-rated comments in the thread.
For many of those who intervened, the topic of abortion is not viewed primarily through a moral or religious filter, but through that of concrete reality, poverty, lack of support and the right of the woman to decide what to do with a borderline situation.
