Fact Check: Lozier Institute Sets the Record Straight on Evidence-Based Research

States Newsroom Coverage Echoes False Claims of Abortion Industry

(Washington, D.C.) –  Recently, CLI scholars Dr. James Studnicki and Dr. Ingrid Skop dug into the question of whether induced abortion can be considered healthcare that is “evidence-based” in their peer-reviewed paper, “Is Induced Abortion Evidence-Based Medical Practice?” A recent report on the paper by States Newsroom sadly misses the mark and echoes many false claims frequently cited by the abortion industry.

For example, States Newsroom’s coverage repeats the claim that “decades of research have established the high safety record and medical benefits of termination.” In fact, Dr. Studnicki and Dr. Skop demonstrate in the paper that there is no evidence-based research establishing when an elective abortion is indicated – or when it’s not.

“There is no research supporting medical benefits from termination,” said Dr. Studnicki. “Early abortion advocates even fretted that abortion-on-demand would turn them into ‘rubber stamps’ or mere tools performing a requested procedure, rather than doctors who diagnose an illness, provide informed consent of potential risks and benefits for various treatment options, and then perform the treatment that is most likely to benefit the patient.” In the case of obstetrics, the needs of both the maternal and fetal patients must be considered.

The coverage also incorrectly claims that CLI’s research encourages procedures that “carry bigger health risks” like performing C-sections instead of abortions in emergencies. This is a mischaracterization that only further distracts the public from the lack of support for the claim that abortion is evidence-based healthcare.

“Sometimes, C-sections are medically necessary and even lifesaving, but usually induction of labor is the safest and most humane option. I do not recommend C-sections when the child is not likely to survive outside the womb. But most pregnancy emergencies occur after the child may survive delivery, and one cannot justify directly killing the child through abortion in that circumstance,” said Dr. Skop.

The article also includes several other inaccurate claims, such as alleging that CLI ignored the “Turnaway” study as an example of quality research that compares childbirth and abortion and repeating the tired claim that abortion is safer than childbirth.

“High-quality studies from countries with better data show that in reality, mortality rates are significantly higher after abortion than after birth,” said Dr. Studnicki. “And the Turnaway study is deeply flawed due to selection bias and a small sample population. Even so, it actually found that the vast majority of women who carried their child to birth (96%) later said they were glad they had their child.”

Additionally, the article quotes an abortionist who states that “[t]he end goal of doing a medical intervention to end a pregnancy and save a patient’s life is the same as when we do an abortion.” But these are not the same.

“The end goal of an abortion is a dead baby. The end goal of a medical intervention during an emergency is to save as many lives as possible. Most women do not want their child intentionally killed through dismemberment, even if he or she is not likely to survive outside the womb,” said Dr. Skop.

With this coverage, States Newsroom illustrates the bias that has led to its being called out by watchdog groups like Influence Watch and News Guard, and highlights the need in scientific reporting for a better understanding of primary sources, the nature of the scientific process, and the possibility that even major medical and scientific organizations can be ideologically compromised.

Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.

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