A chatbot launching Tuesday aims to give users confidential, accurate information when seeking abortion care.
The bot, Charley, was built specifically to reach people in states where abortion is banned or restricted, but does not provide legal advice. Currently, 22 states in the US have banned or restricted abortion care, following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. in June 2022.
Charley, who communicates in both English and Spanish, can be reached via the website ChatwithCharley.org. Other sites, such as Advocates for Youth and Abortion Access Front, also host the bot.
The nonprofit platform and bot were co-created by several reproductive rights and justice organizations, including Plan C, ineedana.com, and the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline. Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, is a co-founder.
Nicole Cushman, who oversees content development for Charley, told Mashable that the bot is designed to take the guesswork out of Internet searches for abortion care that may or may not lead users to up-to-date, truthful information about what options are available. them.
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“The online search experience in particular is really mired in confusion,” Cushman says. “People end up going on this quest and trying to pull together all the resources that make sense for them to get the care they need.”
Cushman said Charley was developed to streamline that process. Users will be presented with several options to choose from. One of the first steps is choosing between information about abortion pills or abortion procedures.
Charley then informs the user that certain laws “restrict abortion after a certain point in pregnancy” and attempts to determine how far along a user may be in the pregnancy. From there, it provides relevant details based on the user’s zip code and preferences.
Charley uses a database of abortion providers compiled by ineedana.com, which is updated daily. It also collects data from the Abortion Policy API, a tool that analyzes and tracks abortion access. Charley can automatically retrieve the latest information about gestational age limits, nearby clinics and the distance to reach them. Additionally, it points abortion seekers to resources such as Plan C, which provides information on how to access abortion pills online at home in the US.
People seeking that information may be under the impression that their only option to obtain an abortion is to travel abroad, but Cushman said the availability of abortion pills means that is not always the case.
![Charley asks if a user is interested in abortion pills or an abortion procedure.](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/01kCiIjuSxwPy4u24kIAa28/images-2.fill.size_416x750.v1694206402.png)
Charley is programmed to present options from which a user can make a choice.
Credit: Charley
Charley also warns users about so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which may populate search results but are not clinics that provide abortion care. Instead, they often pressure women and pregnant people to continue with their pregnancies.
The bot relies on industry logic rather than generative artificial intelligence, meaning Charley cannot have an impromptu conversation or say anything other than the programmed prompts. The only open text box in the chat is the user’s zip code.
Cushman said data privacy and tracking are critical. Charley does not ask for personally identifiable information such as name or age. The bot and its platform do not use cookies or share data with third parties, including the meta-tool Pixel, which may send private or sensitive user information to third parties.
Cushman also noted that each chat is routinely deleted from Charley’s system and server, and data is deleted upon closing the browser. She said the deletion policy would mean data would “probably no longer exist” if police tried to obtain that data in the future.
While state bans and restrictions focus on prosecuting abortion care providers or individuals who assist an abortion care patient, there are concerns that investigators are using Internet search history and communications to build their case.
Still, Kusman advised those who use Charley to “practice safe browsing practices” such as using an incognito window and clearing their browser history.
Dr. April Lockley, medical director of the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline and medical advisor to Charley, told Mashable that being able to quickly gather vital information is critical for people seeking abortions.
In Lockley’s experience, they usually don’t want to wait once the decision has been made. In addition, they may have to consider a waiting period imposed by state law. Lockley added that users who consult Charley will not have to weigh whether the information they receive through the service is “dangerous” or “false.”
“This chatbot and the work I do is important in giving people the information so they can decide what’s best for them,” Lockley said.
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