FACT CHECK: Is PBS right to claim that abortion reduces domestic violence?

PBS NewsHour recently claimed that “researchers have noticed a link between abortion access and a reduced risk for being the target of violence from men.” No valid research demonstrating such a link was cited by the author, nor were these alleged “researchers” identified. The author further implied that states with post-Roe protections for preborn children will see a spike in domestic violence.

But is there a connection between abortion laws and domestic violence? According to the most recent domestic violence statistics, the answer appears to be no.

While the 10 states with the highest rates of domestic violence do include states with pro-life laws, they also include the states of Alaska, Illinois, and Washington. These three states are characterized by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion-related data and legislation, as being “protective” toward abortion.

In other words, abortion laws and domestic violence rates do not appear to be directly correlated.

READ: Forced abortion is the ultimate form of domestic violence

According to DomesticViolence.org, other factors, unrelated to abortion, have much more to do with domestic violence rates: 

[T]he prevalence of domestic violence … var[ies] by state in the United States for different reasons. Each state has laws governing domestic violence, gun ownership, and other related crimes. For this reason, all states have different rates of domestic violence.

How a particular state prosecutes domestic violence perpetrators or abusers [is] directly proportional to how common domestic violence is. For instance, a state with stringent domestic violence penalties may witness fewer domestic violence incidents.

The PBS author cited the repeatedly debunked and highly dubious Turnaway Study, which claimed that women who had abortions were less likely to suffer pregnancy-related physical violence from their partners than women who carried to term. But this is not the stunning revelation it may appear to be — obviously women who are pregnant for a shorter period of time are less likely to be the victims of pregnancy-related violence than women who are pregnant for a longer period of time; women who are pregnant for a full nine months present an increased window of opportunity for violence to occur compared to women who are pregnant for shorter periods.

This obvious observation does not prove that abortion solves the problem of (or even reduces) domestic violence. 

The author also referenced the fact that the leading cause of death among pregnant women is homicide to bolster her claims. While pregnant women do die most frequently as a result of homicide, this does not justify the direct and intentional killing of preborn children. Homicide of one class of people can never be a logical or ethical “solution” to the homicides committed against another class of people.

1st Trimester Abortion | Suction Dilation and Curettage (D&C) | What is Abortion?

In fact, homicide will never be a true solution to any other form of violence. Suggesting the violence of abortion as a solution to domestic violence is unethical and defies reason.