Since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade the anti-Life left has been recklessly spreading misinformation about Pro-Life laws. Medical, scientific, and legal experts have responded, debunking the left’s propaganda and clarifying how Pro-Life laws work to protect the lives of children and their mothers.
The most dangerous and deceitful narrative being pushed by the pro-abortion media is the idea that medically necessary, life-saving procedures are prohibited by Pro-Life laws. Lies such as these have been circulated ubiquitously despite being patently false and extremely dangerous to women.
One article by the Atlantic goes so far as to claim that there is growing sentiment opposed to “life of the mother” exceptions in abortion bans. This is, of course, a blatant falsehood.
Essential to the Pro-Life position is the belief that both mother and child are inherently valuable and deserving of dignity and protection. Pro-Life activists know very well that our laws were passed to explicitly exclude these extreme and rare cases from those abortions that are prohibited. The idea that there is a push to alter this approach is just not true.
Historically, groups like the American Medical Association (AMA) have published guidelines interpreting the law and helping physicians provide the best care possible in accordance with the law. Now, the AMA has remained conspicuously silent, except to occasionally stoke fear that physicians will be unable to do their jobs.
By keeping the truth regarding these laws hidden, the AMA benefits politically and energizes their base to fight Pro-Life policies. Tragically, the AMA’s silence has already caused some physicians to refuse to perform a necessary and legal procedure that is explicitly permitted under Pro-Life law.
Thankfully, Pro-Life organizations comprised of physicians, legal experts, and scientists are combatting this faulty narrative, releasing detailed, factual information showing that Pro-Life laws are clear when read without an agenda. These reputable sources are in agreement: Pro-Life laws do not prohibit procedures that must be done to save the mother’s Life, and do NOT require any delay in that care.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research and education organization that approaches the Life issue from a scientific and policy perspective, has stated that the popular claim that Roe’s reversal will negatively impact life-saving care is false. Dr. Christina Francis, M.D. and Associate Scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute explains:
“In the rare but tragic situations where a pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk, there are medical procedures for compassionately separating the mother and her baby and working to save both lives. The only intent of an abortion is to produce a dead baby.”
Dr. Ingrid Skop, another OB/GYN and Senior Fellow and Director of Medical Affairs with Charlotte Lozier Institute, co-authored a fact sheet that explains in detail how treatment for emergency pregnancy situations is permitted. The fact sheet also examines the laws of each state that currently prohibits abortion, and how those laws clarify what is not considered abortion for legal purposes. A plain reading of the laws, Dr. Skop explains, “easily refutes the false and dangerous misinformation being spread by pro-abortion activists.”
The fact sheet sets the record straight regarding the definition of abortion in Texas law. In Texas, Section 245.002 of the Health and Safety Code states that a procedure is not legally considered to be an abortion and is thus not prohibited if it is done to “remove a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)” or to “remove an ectopic pregnancy.”
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) is also using its expertise to dispel the myths surrounding Pro-Life laws. After Roe’s reversal, AAPLOG released guidance debunking rumors about abortion restrictions and explaining how Pro-Life laws work to save lives without endangering care for women. AAPLOG explains that “appropriate abortion restrictions do not prohibit physicians from ending pregnancy in the case that the life of the mother is threatened.”
AAPLOG also clarifies that,
Preterm and even previable delivery of an intact (and usually living) infant to save the life of the mother is fundamentally different from intentionally ending the life of the fetal human being prior to delivery, often by means of dismemberment.
AAPLOG also published comprehensive practice guidelines for doctors handling any aspect of pregnancy care. By following these guidelines doctors can rest assured that their life-saving treatments are completely legal.
The clear purpose of Pro-Life laws is to save lives, not to prohibit life-saving procedures. Mainstream anti-Life groups know this, but in attempts to discredit Pro-Life laws they callously choose to lie and pretend that life-saving procedures are prohibited. Their deception is the real threat to women needing these life-saving procedures. We applaud Pro-Life medical and legal experts for stepping up to provide factual, credible, and detailed information.