Coalition of Pro-Life Medical Professionals Challenges Misinformation About Chemical Abortion

(The Daily Signal) – A coalition of doctors and medical organizations are calling for transparency surrounding women’s health to combat misinformation about the abortion pill and pro-life laws. 

ProPublica published two articles claiming Georgia women died after taking abortion pills because the state’s abortion ban after six weeks of pregnancy prevented them from getting necessary treatment. Vice President Kamala Harris was quick to blame the deaths on Georgia’s abortion restrictions.

“Donald Trump still refuses to take accountability, to take any accountability, for the pain and the suffering he has caused,” the Democratic nominee for president said.

However, the women did not die because of abortion bans, but rather because the abortion pill is dangerous, according to the coalition’s Women’s Healthcare Declaration, which aims to address misinformation on chemical abortion and pro-life laws.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration relaxed restrictions on chemical abortions in 2021, increasing risks of complications and leaving women without ongoing medical care, the declaration says.

The initial approval of abortion drugs in 2000 required women to attend at least three in-person doctor visits before taking the pills to test for ectopic pregnancy, where the unborn baby implants in the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus; for severe bleeding; and for life-threatening infections.

But the FDA removed requirements for physician oversight. 

“By eliminating in-person physician supervision, women are now left at increased risk of complications due to undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, lack of adequate screening for Rh [blood factor protein] status, and intimate partner violence or coercion,” the declaration says. “They are also left without ongoing medical care if they experience severe bleeding, incomplete abortions, or potentially life-threatening infections.”

The Women’s Healthcare Declaration, released Tuesday, calls on state and federal policymakers and legislators, professional medical organizations, state health agencies, medical boards, hospitals and hospital systems, obstetricians, and the FDA to restore the medical standard of care for pregnant women and women facing pregnancy complications.    

Members of the coalition behind the declaration include the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, American Academy of Medical Ethics, American Association of Christian Counselors, American College of Family Medicine, American College of Pediatricians, Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance, Christ Medicus Foundation, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the Catholic Medical Association, Guiding Star Project, and North Carolina Physicians for Freedom.

“This declaration will provide an excellent way for physicians to use their voices, whether that be in a public way, or whether it be just by signing on to the declaration, and then also to continue to raise awareness about the unique dangers of the abortion drugs, especially in the way that they’re being dispensed now, without any medical oversight and without ongoing care for women,” Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told The Daily Signal.

No state pro-life law prevents a doctor from providing lifesaving care to a woman facing a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or incomplete abortion, the declaration clarifies. Furthermore, misinformation about pro-life laws endangers women.

“Physicians may be delaying or withholding necessary care for women with potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications due to uncertainty or lies they have been told about their state’s laws,” the declaration says. “Laws do not penalize women seeking needed medical care, whether abortion-related or not. If women are told otherwise, they may delay seeking critically needed care.”

The coalition calls for “state legislators to enact legislation that protects women in their state from the risks of induced abortion, including drug-induced abortions, which are often unregulated mail-order and self-managed, and to require fully informed consent for women about the significant risks of induced abortion.”

The declaration demands an end to the “political fearmongering” that prevents women from obtaining necessary medical care.

It also calls for accurate data collection on abortion complications. 

“We call on professional medical organizations to give accurate guidance on laws, as well as to seek evidence-based solutions to improve the care of pregnant women, especially African American women, Hispanic women, and other women from historically underserved communities in the U.S.,” the coalition wrote.

Medical boards must hold hospitals and health care professionals accountable for failing to care for women suffering from miscarriages, abortion complications, ectopic pregnancy, and other pregnancy emergencies, the declaration demands.

“By taking these actions, together, we can restore the medical standard of care that women deserve surrounding pregnancy. Only then will women’s health care in the U.S. be made safe,” the declaration says.