A new video from the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs dispels the myth that banning abortions would prevent doctors from providing life-saving care to women who suffer miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies.
Dr. Christina Francis, an OB-GYN and board chair of the medical association, said it is really important to clear up the misconception, especially with all the talk about the U.S. Supreme Court likely overturning Roe v. Wade this summer.
Without Roe, states will be allowed to protect unborn babies again, and experts predict as many as 26 will do so. But abortion activists are spreading lies about these abortion bans endangering women’s lives.
Francis said pro-life laws do not stop doctors like herself from providing life-saving care to women. These laws always include exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk, and Francis said miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are not the same as elective abortions.
“I think we need to be exceedingly clear: Treating an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage is not an abortion,” she said. “And my ability to treat these conditions would not be hindered by a state outlawing abortion.”
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Let’s be clear: treating ectopic pregnancies is NOT an abortion. pic.twitter.com/34hIzHjgIC
— AAPLOG (@aaplog) May 20, 2022
When she was doing her medical residency, Francis said she worked at a Catholic hospital that did not do abortions, and she and the other doctors treated women with ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. An ectopic pregnancy can be a life-threatening condition in which the unborn baby, as an embryo, implants somewhere other than in the uterus.
Today, Francis said she works at another hospital that does not do abortions, but they do provide care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.
“I’ve never needed to perform an elective abortion, and yet I’ve been able to take care of women with ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages throughout my career,” she said.
Francis pointed out that the pro-life movement values the life of the mother as well as her unborn child. In the case of an ectopic pregnancy, tragically sometimes only one life can be saved; however, she said the intent is to save a life, not to destroy one as with an elective abortion.
“We are pro-life in all circumstances, which means we save who we can in the rare situation in which a woman’s life is in danger,” she explained. “My job as a physician is to intervene to save her life. However, I can do this in a way that does not intend the ending of the life that’s developing inside her.”
Abortion activists have been spreading lies that pro-life laws would prevent women from receiving life-saving care for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages. This lie especially hurts women who are suffering from these conditions by giving them the false impression that when they seek medical help, they could be refused treatment or even punished for doing so.
The truth is women’s lives matter to the pro-life movement, too. Many pro-life leaders have had miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and abortions themselves, and they know the heartache of losing a child. The pro-life movement is based on the fundamental belief that every human life is valuable and deserving of human rights, and that includes every mother, every father and every child.
