Misinformation related to abortion pertains to incorrect or misleading information related to abortion and its implications, including its medical, legal and societal effects.[1] Misinformation related to abortion can stem from political, religious and social groups, particularly on social media. Abortion misinformation can impact public opinion, access to abortion services and policy-making. Misinformation can also divert pregnant people from accessing safe and timely care from appropriately trained medical practitioners.[2] Similarly, abortion misinformation can lead to confusion, stigma and increased feeling of shame in those undergoing the procedure.[3]

Extent and scope

A person who has had an abortion demonstrates with a sign that they believe in the right to safe and legal abortion that is accessible to all.

Digital platforms have often been a source of misinformation regarding abortion. A 2014 investigation into the websites of crisis pregnancy centers revealed that 80% of these sites disseminated inaccurate information, frequently perpetuating unfounded myths about the health risks associated with abortion.[4] Another study analyzing the first five results from Google searches related to abortion medication found the majority of these pages propagated similar misinformation. Common inaccuracies on these web pages include claims that abortion medication can lead to mental illness, adversely affect fertility, or elevate mortality risk.[5] A report from the Guttmacher institute showed that information presented in the state health departments of the United states sometimes contain inaccurate or incomplete information, including out-of-date and biased information.[6] The same report and another study showed that an overwhelming majority of the crisis pregnancy centers provided misleading information related to abortion.[7]

Social media

A study shows that 36.5% of the posts related to abortion on Instagram contained misinformation. Out of the misinformation posts containing medical information, 84.2% were anti-abortion. Around 97% of misinformation posts were created by non-medical providers.[8]

Facebook ads for abortion reversal, an unproven and unsafe medical procedure, deliberately targeted women and girls as young as 13 and have been shown to Facebook users up to 18.4 million times. Google also placed ads for abortion reversal in as much as 83% of the searches related to abortion.[9]

Commonly propagated misinformation

Here is a list of commonly propagated misinformation related to abortion globally.

  • Abortion is a dangerous medical procedure: Abortion is a relatively safe medical procedure. There are twice as many complications associated with wisdom teeth removal than with abortion. The complications related to childbirth is more common and serious than the complications related to abortion. [10]
  • Abortion is a rare procedure: Abortion is so common that around 25% of the women in US will have undergone an abortion before 45 years of age.[10] Each year, hundreds of thousands of more abortions happen in the US than other surgeries like appendicectomy or hysterectomy.[11]
  • Undergoing abortion increases the risk for breast cancer: There is no evidence for association of abortion with breast cancer. The US National Institute of Cancer and the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have independently concluded that induced abortion is not associated with an increased cancer risk.[12]
  • Abortion will result in negative mental health outcomes: The relative risk of mental health problems in women undergoing a first trimester abortion of an unwanted pregnancy is no greater than the risk among women who give birth to an unwanted pregnancy.[12]
  • Fetus perceives excruciating pain during abortion: The connection between the thalamus and cortex of the brain of the foetus is not fully developed until the 24th week of gestation, which means that perception of pain is not possible until after 24 weeks.[13] Such late abortions are extremely rare, and only 1% of the abortions are conducted after 21 weeks of pregnancy.[14] Secondly, the foetus is not conscious before birth, due to the sedating effect of the physical environment in the uterus. Therefore, it is less likely that foetus can experience pain before birth, even when the brain is fully developed and synaptic connections are in place.[12]
  • There is an increased risk of fertility problems after abortion: There is no conclusive evidence that undergoing an abortion increases the risk for subsequent infertility.[12]
  • Abortion pills are unsafe: Medical abortion is both safe and effective when taken as directed by regulated healthcare bodies.[1]
  • Herbal medicine can help provide safe abortion: There is no sufficient scientific evidence showing any herbal products being able to provide safe abortion. In fact, use of some herbs for abortion might cause serious health problems. Additionally, if the abortion effort was unsuccessful, some herbal medication can cause lasting damage to the foetus if it is brought to term.[1]

Impact

The impact of abortion misinformation is wide-reaching, influencing individuals across the spectrum of beliefs about abortion. Marginalized communities could face heightened adverse effects from abortion misinformation due to their higher abortion rates, reduced access to healthcare , lower levels of health literacy, limited access to reliable health information, and a diminished trust in healthcare providers, as well as due to a prolonged history of systemic racism in healthcare.[15]

A survey found that 67% of "pro-choice" respondents and 88% of "pro-life" respondents believed that childbirth is either safer or as safe as undergoing an abortion. Contrary to these beliefs, childbirth's mortality rate is considerably higher, ranging between 50 and 130 times greater than that of abortion.[11]

About 25 to 30% of American women will terminate pregnancy at some point in their lives. However, highly educated and higher-income Americans are likely to believe that abortion is rare. Among Americans without a college degree, 54% underestimate abortion rates, compared with 70% of those with graduate degrees. The frequency of abortion is underestimated by 67% of men and 57% of women. Low income and less educated women, the group that is more likely to undergo an abortion, were more likely to estimate the abortion rates correctly. [11]

Challenges due to abortion infodemic

Due to the high prevalence of abortion infodemic, physicians who speak publicly about abortion have been targeted and harassed. Physicians providing abortion services may face stigma in the workplace, in their communities, and from colleagues.[2]

In some states, providing abortion services might ensure litigation. Misinformation related to abortion among healthcare professionals and legislators may lead to abortion legislation being written vaguely or inaccurately. Confusing information related to abortion may also cause physicians to deny abortions in instances where the patient's complications are considered to not have met the legal threshold for "life threatening". Abortion misinformation may have implications in physicians getting less opportunities or having less incentives to practice abortion care, resulting in fewer physicians qualifying for performing safe abortions.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gendered Health Misinformation". meedan.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Increasing Access to Abortion". www.acog.org. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Sherman, Jenna. "How Abortion Misinformation and Disinformation Spread Online". Scientific American. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Bryant, Amy G.; Narasimhan, Subasri; Bryant-Comstock, Katelyn; Levi, Erika E. (December 2014). "Crisis pregnancy center websites: Information, misinformation and disinformation". Contraception. 90 (6): 601–605. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2014.07.003. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. ↑ Pleasants, Elizabeth; Guendelman, Sylvia; Weidert, Karen; Prata, Ndola (21 January 2021). "Quality of top webpages providing abortion pill information for Google searches in the USA: An evidence-based webpage quality assessment". PLOS ONE. 16 (1): e0240664. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240664. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7819599.
  6. ↑ "Misinformed Consent: The Medical Accuracy of State-Developed Abortion Counseling Materials". Guttmacher Institute. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Bryant, Amy G.; Narasimhan, Subasri; Bryant-Comstock, Katelyn; Levi, Erika E. (December 2014). "Crisis pregnancy center websites: Information, misinformation and disinformation". Contraception. 90 (6): 601–605. doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2014.07.003. ISSN 1879-0518. PMID 25091391. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Potter, Kaylee; Bauer, Callie Cox; Laiwalla, Rahim; Lanza, Shannon (May 2023). "A Look at Social Media and Misinformation in Regard to Abortion [ID: 1379920]". Obstetrics & Gynecology. 141 (5S): 91S. doi:10.1097/01.AOG.0000931104.72428.c0. ISSN 0029-7844. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Endangering Women for Profit". Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  10. 1 2 "What facts about abortion do I need to know?". www.plannedparenthood.org. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "We polled 1,060 Americans about abortion. This is what they got wrong. What Americans think about abortion". Vox.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Rowlands, Sam (2011). "Misinformation on abortion" (PDF). The European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care. 16 (4): 233–240. doi:10.3109/13625187.2011.570883. S2CID 13500769. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2023.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ Fischer, Kristen. "When Can a Fetus Feel Pain in the Womb?". WebMD. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Abortions Later in Pregnancy". KFF. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 Pagoto, Sherry L; Palmer, Lindsay; Horwitz-Willis, Nate (4 May 2023). "The Next Infodemic: Abortion Misinformation". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 25: e42582. doi:10.2196/42582. ISSN 1439-4456. PMC 10196890. PMID 37140975.
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