Today let’s talk about a controversy over an abortion ad, and what it reveals about the confusion that has resulted from the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade earlier this year.

Mayday Health is a nonprofit organization with a straightforward mission: “to share info about how to access safe abortion pills in any state.” Its website walks people through how to safely obtain pills while obscuring their digital footprint, and its aggressive advertising tactics in recent weeks have drawn scrutiny from anti-abortion advocates. In August, the attorney general of Mississippi subpoenaed the organization after it put up three billboards reading “Pregnant? you still have a choice.” (They just put up similar billboards in Idaho.)

On Sept. 30, the organization tried to get its message out a different way: by buying ads on Spotify. But a few days later the ad, which promoted access to abortion pills, was rejected.

“I think the only way we could launch this is if the ads and the landing page are much more general about health care providers and options,” a Spotify ad reviewer wrote to the organization, according to emails shared with Platformer. “The mention of any abortion services on any piece of creative will likely not get approved in Ad Studio. Sorry this is so rigid! Let us know if you have any other questions.”

Spotify’s posted advertising policies do not appear to ban abortion services, though “contraception” is placed in a “restricted” category that requires additional review. In another email to Mayday, though, Spotify’s ad reviewer suggested that abortion ads are banned.

“As of right now, this is currently prohibited within our policies: Abortion products and service, abortion providers, and pregnancy counseling, does not include standard OB/GYN providers. We unfortunately can’t accept this campaign at the moment but we’ll let you know if that changes!”

After Platformer inquired about the discrepancy, Spotify said the rejection had been an error and that the ad would be allowed after all.

Here’s what Spotify told me:...