Six Things You May Not Know About Abortion

Abortion is a very common procedure—one in four U.S. women will have one—yet most people still know so little about it.

Jan 3, 2024
by KENDALL TURNER

After reading about Kate Cox’s unsuccessful efforts to obtain an abortion in Texas, I needed an outlet for my ire. I took to social media, where I found reprehensible comments about abortion on Threads. I responded to them. I schooled my interlocutors with facts and links to research. I dazzled them with my correct grammar. I received tens of likes.

You may be shocked to learn that I changed no one’s mind. I was nevertheless surprised by some people’s misconceptions about abortion—many of which appeared to be shared by pro- and anti-abortion individuals

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2024/01/03/abortion-facts-misconception/


The Right to Contraception: State and Federal Actions, Misinformation, and the Courts

Mabel Felix, Laurie Sobel, and Alina Salganicoff
Oct 26, 2023

Introduction
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling has heightened interest in affirming the right to contraception. While the Court’s majority opinion stated that the Dobbs decision does not “cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion,” Justice Thomas argued in his concurring opinion that in future cases, the Court should reconsider precedent that relied on the same principles as Roe – including Griswold v. Connecticut, the Court’s 1965 landmark decision that recognized the right of married people to obtain contraceptives – and overturn those decisions. The prospect of the Court overturning Griswold moved some in Congress to introduce federal legislation that would protect the right to contraception, though that legislation is unlikely to advance in the current divided Congress. Similarly, some state legislators have recently introduced measures to protect the right to obtain contraceptives.

Continued: https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-right-to-contraception-state-and-federal-actions-misinformation-and-the-courts/


The abortion myths Republicans are recycling to reframe a losing issue

Anti-abortion activists lost every referendum on the issue in 2022 and the right is scrambling to find a way to talk about a political hot potato

Carter Sherman
Wed 27 Sep 2023

The post-Roe v Wade battle over abortion rights may just torpedo Republicans’ shot at the White House next year, and they know it.

Anti-abortion activists lost every abortion-related voter referendum last year, while ire over the fall of Roe has been credited with boosting Democrats in the 2022 midterms. Now, Republicans in the presidential primary are scrambling to figure out how to talk about and legislate abortion. But they’re regurgitating some common anti-abortion myths to make their case.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/27/abortion-myths-republicans


Americans Deserve Better Than Abortion Pill Misinformation

Self-managed abortion through pills is safe, private and effective. Media outlets have a role to play in stopping the spread of misinformation.

9/16/2023
by JENNIFER LINCOLN

Since the fall of Roe, there have been countless attempts to chill speech about abortion, and misinformation has run rampant. Just last month, a prominent newspaper published one of the most egregious examples yet: an op-ed by David Reardon titled “Coercive Abortions Are at the Heart of the FDA Abortion Pill Case.”

Reardon holds a degree from Pacific Western University, an unaccredited correspondence school that closed in 2006 after a lawsuit from the state of Hawaii. Medical professionals and researchers have repeatedly criticized his research for methodological flaws and biases—and reproductive health experts have argued that his conclusions are not supported by scientific evidence.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2023/09/16/mail-order-abortion-pills-safe/


Myths about abortion and women’s mental health are widespread, experts say

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN
Sun July 3, 2022

It's an unfounded message experts say is repeated again and again: Having an abortion may damage a woman's mental health, perhaps for years.

“There's so much misinformation, so many
myths about abortion. Abortion will lead to substance abuse, depression,
suicidal thoughts; abortion is bad for your health; every woman is going to
regret it," said social psychologist Brenda Major, a distinguished professor
emeritus in the department of psychological and brain sciences at the
University of California, Santa Barbara.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/02/health/abortion-myths-mental-health-wellness/index.html


USA – The Anti-Abortion Movement Can’t Use This Myth Anymore

Covid-19 may end up inadvertently speeding up abortion progress in America — and exposing conservative hypocrisy along the way.

May 13, 2021
By Jessica Valenti, New York Times

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration announced that people seeking abortion pills during the Covid-19 pandemic will no longer have to visit a doctor’s office to get a prescription. Under the Trump administration, patients were required to receive the first of the medication’s two doses in person, a mandate upheld by the Supreme Court in January. The new policy instead allows for telemedicine consultations and pills sent by mail.

The decision is a practical one for the Covid era: It reduces unnecessary face time in doctor’s offices, which cuts down the potential for exposure. It could also be a huge blow to the anti-abortion movement. Groups like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have been pushing the Biden administration to make the F.D.A.’s decision permanent. Last week, in a legal filing, the agency announced it was reviewing their restrictions on the medication.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/opinion/abortion-pill-fda-covid.html


This Will Be Trump’s Go-To Abortion Lie in 2020

This Will Be Trump's Go-To Abortion Lie in 2020
Anti-choice activists are already rallying around a misinformation campaign.

by Marie Solis
Jan 7 2020

As part of their election year agenda, abortion opponents are planning to push the unfounded myth that abortions routinely result in live births, and that the providers who perform the procedures have no ethical responsibility to save those lives.

Two women who claim to be the product of unsuccessful abortions will speak at this year’s March for Life, the annual anti-abortion demonstration in protest of the January 1973 Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade. And the organization behind the march, along with other major anti-abortion groups, has pledged to push federal "Born-Alive" legislation in 2020 that would require doctors to provide medical care to infants who survive failed abortion procedures.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/g5xbeq/donald-trump-born-alive-abortion-bill-do-democrats-support-infanticide


India – Four Myths About Abortion That We Need To Stop Peddling

Four Myths About Abortion That We Need To Stop Peddling

By FII Team -
June 24, 2019

It’s high time we get rid of these pernicious myths about abortion that add to abortion stigma and make abortion harder to access for women and trans people seeking access to reproductive healthcare.

1. Abortions are dangerous.
Let’s put to rest the myth that abortions are a dangerous procedure. Abortions, when conducted by legitimate and registered medical professionals, are a very safe procedure with minimal risks.

Continued: https://feminisminindia.com/2019/06/24/myths-about-abortion/


New Zealand – Abortion: Separating the facts from the fiction

Abortion: Separating the facts from the fiction

Cecile Meier
Nov 20 2018

Abortion is a polarising issue. The Government's potential move to take the procedure out of the Crimes Act and treat it as a health issue has sparked debate.

Emotional arguments are coming out from both sides and it can be hard to distinguish fact from fiction. So what is the science behind the claims? We asked medical experts and researchers about commonly held beliefs on abortions.

Continued: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/108411355/Abortion-Separating-the-facts-from-the-fiction


Malawi: Gynaecologist Sheds Light On Abortion Law Reform in Malawi

Malawi: Gynaecologist Sheds Light On Abortion Law Reform in Malawi

By Dr Chisali Mhango
May 7, 2018

Renowned Malawian gynaecologist Dr Chisali Mhango sheds light on abortion law history, misconceptions, fears and law reform process in Malawi.

Abortion is a very common universal phenomenon. Since the beginning of recorded history women the world over have terminated unwanted pregnancies. The first recorded evidence of an induced abortion is found in an Egyptian Papyrus dated 1550 BC. Of 213 million pregnancies that occur each year worldwide, 40% are unplanned, of these half end in abortion, and half of those abortions are unsafe, that is 22 million,

Continued: http://allafrica.com/stories/201805070813.html