Apple removes pro-life app from App Store following criticism from pro-choice advocates

A mobile application created by a pro-life group was allegedly removed from the Apple App Store following criticism from pro-choice advocates and liberal media outlets.

The Human Coalition Prayer app, which allows pro-life individuals and church groups to pray for women who are seeking abortions, was initially approved by Apple, but it was subsequently removed after it came under intense scrutiny from pro-choice journalists.

According to the Human Coalition's official website, the application notifies users when someone is considering an abortion and invites them to pray. The application's "Prayer Feed" allows the users to see a real-time user map that shows them where other users are praying.

This past summer, pro-choice journalists have taken notice of the application and began criticizing the pro-life group that released it.

"Are digital anti-abortion prayers sanctioned by the church? Do they reach God? Though these questions may seem faintly ridiculous, their answers seem more important than ever. When it comes to the tech behind these anti-abortion apps however, that is where people – religious or not – might do well to lose a little faith," Amelia Tait wrote in an article published by U.K.'s The New Statesman.

Christina Cauterucci also wrote a sarcastic piece about the mobile application on her blog at Slate. "You too can be a baby-saving hero. Your superpower awaits at your favored app store, searchable under "Human Coalition,'" she wrote.

The Human Coalition told Life News that Apple removed the app from the App Store in July, citing violations of certain functionality requirements.

However, the group contended that the app not only met the cited requirements, but it exceeded Apple's minimum requirements and functioned better than similar apps from other developers.

The pro-life group further noted that Apple was either unwilling or unable to identify a specific improvement in the app that would warrant its reinstatement in the app store.

"[T]he effect of Apple's requirements for modifying the app before it could be re-submitted for consideration would be that Human Coalition would have to completely overhaul of the app — a cost-prohibitive and unnecessary demand," the Human Coalition told Life News.

According to the group, pro-choice activists have launched a campaign against its pro-life work in Atlanta following the removal of the application from the App Store.

The Human Coalition vowed to continue its work until abortion becomes "unthinkable and unavailable" in the U.S.

Another tech giant is also facing criticism for censoring a pro-life senatorial candidate's campaign advertisement.

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn is demanding an apology from Twitter for blocking her campaign video that mentions the abortion industry's alleged sales of baby body parts.

In her campaign advertisement, Blackburn asserted that she has fought against Planned Parenthood and has stopped the sales of baby body parts.

Twitter told Blackburn's campaign in an email that the line mentioning Planned Parenthood was "deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction."

The social media company eventually allowed her advertisement to be posted on the platform, saying the original call was made on the basis of its advertising moderation policy, rather than violations of its more general terms of service. The website acknowledged that it may have overstepped by applying that standard to a political advertisement.