National Right to Life Releases Report Exposing Why Abortion Pill Complications Are Underreported

WASHINGTON — National Right to Life has released a new report, Missed, Misclassified, and Minimized: Why Abortion Pill Complications Are Underreported, by Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life Director of Education and Research. The findings highlight the reasons why serious complications from chemical abortions are often underreported or misreported.

“The abortion pill is being sold as safe, but independent data tell another story,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Women are being harmed, and the dangers are being ignored or hidden.”

The report highlights three major reasons for underreporting:

● Women are told to conceal complications. Abortion pill providers encourage women to present their symptoms as miscarriages, leaving doctors without critical information and skewing medical records.

● A lack of curiosity in the media. Reporters frequently repeat abortion industry talking points while ignoring data and women’s very real stories.

● Abortion industry spin. Complications such as hemorrhage, failed abortions, and infections are often recategorized as “minor,” masking the true risks.

“Abortion industry spin makes mifepristone abortions sound easy, but the truth is each abortion takes the life of a living preborn child and places the woman in danger,” said Tobias.

Since its approval, the FDA has documented at least 36 deaths and thousands of complications linked to the abortion pill. With weaker federal reporting requirements in place since 2016, National Right to Life warns that the real toll is likely far higher.

“Assertions of safety based on flawed or slanted industry studies are not good enough,” stated report author, Dr. O’Bannon. “The public—and policymakers—deserve accurate, transparent reporting on the dangers of chemical abortion.”

The full report is available here.