Anti-women’s health politicians have passed more than 200 abortion restrictions since 2011 in states across the country, many in the name of protecting patient health and safety. Yet a study released Dec. 8 reaffirms that abortion as practiced in America today is safe — and just further proof that these restrictions are actually intended to block access to safe and legal abortion.
News Flash:
Laws Should Be Based on Science
It’s plain to see that elected officials must consider the science when drafting legislation that affects women’s health, especially when anti-women’s health politicians and special interest groups are continuing their efforts to introduce and pass medically unnecessary targeted restrictions on abortion providers (“TRAP laws”).
“The science says abortion is safe, but time and time again elected officials are ignoring the facts and jamming through abortion restrictions under a false guise of ‘safety’ when they actually endanger women. We urge legislators to use the facts when making policy that affects women’s lives,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The Study’s Findings
The study was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology and finds that:
- Women experience serious complications less than 1 percent of the time.
- When a woman goes to an emergency room after an abortion, in half the cases it is for conditions unrelated to the abortion.
- The majority of abortion-related complications women experience are minor.
These findings build on what we already knew about abortion’s 99 percent safety record, and how abortion has similar levels of risk to other gynecological procedures in outpatient settings.
Abortion Restrictions to Watch
Despite the science, politicians in state-after-state continue introducing and passing TRAP legislation that restricts access to reproductive health care and safe and legal abortion. These efforts have nothing to do with protecting patient health and safety, which is why doctors and leading medical groups oppose them.
Lawmakers should know that Women are Watching – and we’re ready to fight back against these attacks.
Tags: TRAP, Abortion restrictions, study
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