Misinformation and disinformation have become commonplace since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and many news organizations have been pushing false or misleading narratives about abortion and women’s health care. But a group of pro-life obstetricians and gynecologists is working hard to disseminate the facts of the matter.
The Washington Examiner reports that the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) is launching a national campaign over social media and through fact sheets designed to debunk various false claims that are widespread in the mainstream media.
“Today, AAPLOG is launching a new campaign to address misinformation with facts using these tools. This is all part of our mission to empower women with information so they can make fully informed healthcare decisions and empower you with the evidence you need to defend your practice of life-affirming medicine,” said an AAPLOG memo to the Examiner.
Most of the misinformation and disinformation that AAPLOG seeks to counter involves mainstream media stories that portray the outlawing of abortion in some states as dangerous and potentially even fatal to some women. For instance, NPR broadcasted and published an interview with an OBGYN who claimed that induced abortions are medically necessary to save the lives of some women – just one instance of many similar news stories.
AAPLOG’s guidance seeks to counter these false narratives with facts. In response to the common media narrative about dangers to women’s health, the AAPLOG memo points out the fact that “elective abortion is not lifesaving medical care,” and that “no laws on elective abortion will impact” the ability of OB/GYNs to provide “lifesaving medical care to pregnant women.”
The groups notes that 93% of practicing OB/GYNs “do not perform elective abortions but have always been able to offer life-saving treatment” regardless of any state pro-life laws, and that OB/GYNs are “trained to discern when they need to intervene to save a mother’s life.”
Some news organizations like NBC have reported that maternal mortality rates will certainly rise as a result of Roe v. Wade‘s reversal. AAPLOG counters this with more facts: “The data clearly shows that restricting abortion does not lead to an increase in maternal mortality.”
Additionally, the memo points out an important fact frequently obfuscated or incorrectly relayed by many media sources: that miscarriages are not induced abortions, and saving the lives of preborn babies does not mean a delay or denial of treatment for miscarriages in states that have outlawed abortion.
“The difference between a miscarriage and an elective abortion is clear,” the guidance reads. “In a miscarriage, the baby has already died and therefore any treatment of a miscarriage would not be an abortion. The procedures and treatments used for miscarriage management are not prohibited by abortion restrictions.”
AAPLOG said it aims to be “the first major pro-life, medical professional network-based effort to correct the record on the effects of Roe’s overturn in the medical sphere,” according to the Washington Examiner.
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