In the wake of the uproar that followed Raw Story's reporting that iPhone's Siri not only cannot help users figure out where to get an abortion but, in some cases, sends them to anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Apple finally responded that the errors aren't 'intentional.'
Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris told the New York Times' Jenna Wortham, "These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks.”
Kerris did not, apparently, explain why Siri, although still in beta, has no difficulty locating escort services, plastic surgeons that will perform breast augmentation procedures or hospitals to direct users if they have erections lasting longer than five hours (a condition known as priapism). Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures in the United States: approximately 1.3 million women have an abortion each year. By comparison, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 296,203 breast augmentations were performed in 2010 and statistics indicate that about 5,000 American men will suffer from priapism in a given year.
[Image courtesy of Rafael Noboa y Rivera]
