Don't Use That Word: Health Database Blocks Use of Abortion as Search Term

NPR's Morning Edition had an interesting story earlier in the week of how the world's largest reproductive health database, POPLINE, which is maintained by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, blocked the use of the word abortion as a search term:

[Michael Klag, the dean of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health] says the seven articles that triggered the restriction in late February were from an issue of A, the Abortion Magazine, which is published by Ipas, an international reproductive rights organization.

It seems that perceived pressure came from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the database. By law, the agency cannot support abortion activities, and it considers advocacy materials as support. The database has seven articles in it from an abortion advocacy magazine. I guess it was a case of a word so dangerous, you cannot seek it.