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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Sexual Politics Siri Won't Help Steve Find an Abortion Clinic, But it Will Help Him Find a Church!

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 12:43 PM

iPhone users across the country were dismayed to discover this week that Siri, the iPhone 4's smart humanoid robot, won't bring up abortion clinics in search results. Siri can instantly find you all sorts of other things—like sex and Viagra, but ask for an abortion clinic and it comes up with nada.

Steve tried to find a Portland abortion center with his iPhone. Here's what happened:

For the record, several clinics on our side of the river offer abortions, including the Lovejoy Surgicenter, the OHSU family planning center, and the downtown women's center. All of these come up in a Google search, so it seems suspiciously like Siri is filtering its regular web search to exclude abortions. Luckily, Steve was able to resort to the old ink-and-paper phone book. He's okay now, healthy and recovering well.

 

Comments (8) RSS

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1
What comes up if you ask Siri for family planning? Just wondering.
Posted by noiphone on November 30, 2011 at 1:34 PM · Report
2
I SAW ALISON'S HEAD AT THE 0:53 MARK. TELL HER TO STAY OUT OF THE FRAM NEXT TIME.
Posted by Graham on November 30, 2011 at 1:42 PM · Report
3
Wow, I expected you to look more like a filthy, deranged sicko.
Posted by Benjo The Unique on November 30, 2011 at 2:53 PM · Report
4
Siri should have a "Vietnamese Bar Hostess" option.

"Oh, Steve, you so fahnny, you no want abortion, you a man! I think you a man anyway!"
Posted by Todd Mecklem on November 30, 2011 at 3:18 PM · Report
5
If you need an abortion, I just bought a new dining room table. C'mon over! I still have 9 lbs of leftover turkey!
Posted by ShopVacYourManSac on November 30, 2011 at 3:30 PM · Report
6
Well. Someone should tell Siri that we can always go back to coat hangers and flights of stairs. Because those particular stereotypes are awesome.

My favorite quote on the subject:

"I, ah...this abortion issue in the States is dividing the country right in half. You know, and even amongst my friends - we're all highly intelligent - they're totally divided on the issue of abortion. Totally divided. Some of my friends think these pro-life people are just annoying idiots. Other of my friends think these pro-life people are evil fucks. How are we gonna have a consensus? I'm torn. I try and take the broad view and think of them as evil, annoying fucks."
~Bill Hicks

Posted by Fruit Cup on November 30, 2011 at 6:11 PM · Report
7
Smart-assiness aside, this does really stink. Do other types of medical clinics show up?
Posted by Todd Mecklem on November 30, 2011 at 7:30 PM · Report
8
@Todd -
I think your account might have been hacked by someone talking about putting smartassiness aside. Couldn't be you, right?
Posted by all_anon on December 1, 2011 at 3:52 PM · Report

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