Planned Parenthood Caught Deleting Info Confirming Ectopic Pregnancy Treatment is Not Abortion

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jul 21, 2022   |   12:59PM   |   Washington, DC

Planned Parenthood just removed a section from its website that explained how treatment for ectopic pregnancies is not the same as abortion – raising suspicions about the abortion chain feeding into misinformation about pro-life laws banning the life-saving treatment.

Live Action News first discovered the change, reporting Thursday how the information was removed from Planned Parenthood’s website.

The sentence, “Treating an ectopic pregnancy isn’t the same thing as getting an abortion,” is no longer on the webpage, and it appears to have been removed sometime after July 14, according to the report.

The webpage used to read: “Treating an ectopic pregnancy isn’t the same thing as getting an abortion. Abortion is a medical procedure that when done safely, ends a pregnancy that’s in your uterus. Ectopic pregnancies are unsafely outside of your uterus (usually in the fallopian tubes), and are removed with a medicine called methotrexate or through a laparoscopic surgical procedure. The medical procedures for abortions are not the same as the medical procedures for an ectopic pregnancy.”

According to Live Action, Planned Parenthood had the information on its website for at least two years. In recent weeks, pro-life advocates frequently have cited the webpage to refute false and misleading claims about pro-life laws preventing women from receiving medical care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

Now, the information suddenly is gone.

Follow LifeNews on the Parler social media network for the latest pro-life news!

The page now reads: “Ectopic pregnancies are unsafely outside of your uterus (usually in the fallopian tubes), and are removed with a medicine called methotrexate or through a laparoscopic surgical procedure. The medical procedures for terminating a pregnancy in the uterus are usually different from the medical procedures for terminating an ectopic pregnancy.”

Pro-life laws that ban abortions do not stop doctors from treating mothers with life-threatening conditions like an ectopic pregnancy, nor do they ban treatment for miscarriages because the baby already is dead. Pro-life laws ban the killing of unborn babies in abortions.

Doctors, pro-life leadersLifeNews.com and other publications have refuted the false claim numerous times, pointing to clear language in pro-life laws, statements by medical professionals and providers.

But the claims resurfaced again after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic ruling June 24 and states began protecting unborn babies from abortion again.

Millions of impressionable women and girls heard from celebrities like Halle Berry and Meghan Markle that pro-life laws will put their lives in jeopardy and ban life-saving pregnancy care, according to The Federalist. Politicians like Hillary Clinton and the mayor of San Francisco, writers at ABC News, NBC Newsthe Daily Beast and others spouted similar claims.

“My heart is breaking that women are being made to feel fearful by the misinformation that’s out there,” said Dr. Christina Francis, a leading pro-life OB-GYN, earlier this month. “As a pro-life OB/GYN who’s practiced my entire career in hospitals that do not allow abortions, I have never been prevented from safely treating an ectopic pregnancy.”

Pro-life doctors and hospitals have and will continue to treat women suffering from miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, too, said Francis, a leader with the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs.

She said treating ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages or other life-threatening conditions in pregnancy are not the same as elective abortions, which is what pro-life laws prohibit. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that chemical abortions, or abortion drugs, cannot treat an ectopic pregnancy, Francis continued.

“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.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute recently published a fact sheet that explains the facts about miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and abortion laws.

Legally, most laws that restrict or ban abortions specifically state that treatments for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies are not abortions, and all pro-life laws allow exceptions if the mother’s life is at risk, which includes such situations.

The truth is women’s lives matter to the pro-life movement, too. Many pro-life leaders have suffered 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 and every child.