Last week a crowd-funding website called GoFundMe removed a campaign posted by a young couple requesting money for an abortion.
The fund, called “Stop Bailey from Breeding” was put on the site on September 2nd by a 23-year-old woman from Phoenix, Arizona. It explained that “Bailey is currently unemployed, completely broke, in debt, and in no position to hold down a job due to severe symptoms of a rough, unplanned and unexpected pregnancy.”
Bailey and her boyfriend needed $2,500 for the abortion. Their account was closed down by the host after just five days but it had already raised over $2,100 with donations from over 130 people.
GoFundMe explained their position in an e-mail: “We’re sorry to inform you that after careful review, GoFundMe has determined that your campaign is not appropriate for our site. Accordingly, your GoFundMe account has been removed and your campaign is no longer visible on GoFundMe.”
“GoFundMe reviews campaigns that have received a high number of complaints on a case-by-case basis. In this particular case, your campaign contains subject matter that GoFundMe would rather not be associated with.”
This was not the first time the page had been removed. It had previously been taken down because it contained language that was deemed unsuitable. When those offending posts were amended the organisers allowed the site to go back up. It wasn't until the number of complaints relating to funding request itself got so large that the website removed the campaign.
The obvious question is: why did GoFundMe remove the campaign if they had allowed it in the first place? The fact that it had been taken down once before, albeit on different grounds, indicates that the site knew exactly what the funding was for and was, initially at least, happy to let it continue. As long as it was generating money and only a few complaints there was no apparent problem. When it started to generate lots of complaints it was removed.
Was there anything fundamentally wrong with the page? Legally nothing at all. Abortion is legal after all, though it should be noted that at twenty weeks Bailey was cutting it fine in terms of obtaining an abortion in Illinois. But surely obtaining money from people contributing to a website that raises money is better than dealing drugs or prostitution. Purists of the crowd-funding sphere will say that this was never what it was meant to be used for. But we could say the same about anything from nuclear energy to cucumbers. Inventions are invented and then they are used to suit whatever type of kind, cruel, useless or useful purpose the user can come up with.
It would be wonderful to think that crowd-funding websites were only available to people who were involved in - or who sang about- projects that were selfless, life-affirming or of the save-the-world ilk. But to be fair these sites are open resources and as long as the activity is not illegal then surely anything goes.
In many cases that's exactly what happens.
In July, a Columbus native, Zack Brown, decided to raise $10 on Kickstarter to make a potato salad. It was a joke but by the end of the campaign he had raised over $55,000. When it became apparent the project had taken on a life of its own, Zack turned the idea into something different and now he's looking at various events and products relating to potato salad including PotatoStock; a music festival to raise funds for homelessness. Conceivably, Zack could have just kept the money for himself and gone to Las Vegas.
Recently in England, a West Ham supporter who shot to fame for invading the pitch and taking a free kick during a game against Tottenham Hotspur asked fellow fans to contribute to the fine he was given for his antics. While not in the spirit, if you will, of what a fine is supposed to be, it was not illegal. One might even be tempted to applaud grudgingly at how innovative he has been in utilising his fifteen minutes of fame.
As for Bailey's abortion page, GoFundMe say that the money it has raised will be sent to her.
Tune in to Jonathan every Monday for Around The World on Moncrieff or follow him on Twitter @deburcabutler
