Thread by @DrDGrossman

I hear the March for Life's theme this year is being anti-abortion is pro-science. As a scientist, researcher, and practicing ob/gyn, this confounds me. Anti-abortion laws and regulations are routinely enacted without regard for evidence-based research.
statnews.com/2019/01/15/is-…

This week, @mmfa released a guide for journalists covering the March for Life and traps to avoid when reporting. It's important unproven and disproven beliefs aren't shared as facts (such as abortion is dangerous or causes breast cancer and depression). mediamatters.org/blog/2019/01/1…

At @Rewire_News, @mlaurahuss compiled a list of basic evidence-based research and facts about abortion that counters the anti-abortion movement's misinformation campaign.
rewire.news/article/2019/0…

This landmark report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (@theNASEM) found abortion is being provided safely and effectively in the US. The risks to patients comes from legislators passing laws restricting access to safe care.
npr.org/sections/healt…

Of course, at @ANSIRH we have rigorous evidence-based researchers who look at the medical, social, economic, and legal impact abortion access has on patients seeking care. All of our research can be found at ansirh.org

However, I want to highlight a few issues that are sure to be highlighted at the March for Life, including gestational limit abortion bans, mental health and abortion, so-called 'abortion reversal', telemedicine, self-managed abortion, and criminalization of patients & providers.

First, let me just remind everyone that abortion is an extremely safe medical procedure. Plain and simple. Study after study has found this. It's not a medical debate. nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/20…

States have been trying to get around the promise of Roe, which guarantees abortion until around 24-28 weeks, by passing earlier anti-abortion bans at 20, 15, 12, and even 6 weeks (before patients know they're pregnant). There's no medical justification for these bans.

In fact, it just makes abortion more difficult to get earlier in pregnancy and more patients then need later abortion care and are forced out of state, like we saw in Texas. expressnews.com/news/local/art…

Anti-abortion advocates have claimed that abortion causes depression. @ANSIRH researchers @BiggsAntonia & @UshmaU studied 956 women semiannually for 5 year and found there is no link. In fact, outcomes improved or remained steady over time. jamanetwork.com/journals/jamap…

As of recently, anti-abortion advocates have been pushing the myth that abortion patients are unsure of their decision. It's based on sexist rhetoric that women are indecisive and cannot make decisions on their own. This isn't based in reality or evidence-based research.

Our research found patients having abortions have high levels of certainty about their decision. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27745910

Providers talk with patients about their options, what the procedure entails, and screen them to ensure they're making the decision of their own free will.

But that hasn't stopped politicians from writing laws requiring providers to tell patients about so-called 'abortion reversal' an unproven medical experiment that has no evidence backing it up. This is dangerous and not how we practice medicine.
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…

Additionally, lawmakers have tried to halt the rise of telemedicine care for abortion which makes access for rural patients a challenge. Our research found that telemedicine provision of abortion is just as safe as in clinic provision. journals.lww.com/greenjournal/F…

The thing is, medication abortion is extremely safe. Medication abortion is so safe that patients can take it on their own, as we found in another study. journals.plos.org/plosone/articl…

But many states make it a crime for patients to manage their own abortion, and the government is standing in the way of making the pill more accessible in pharmacies or over-the-counter like it is in other countries. cnn.com/2018/10/23/hea…

This is why we need to end the criminalization of abortion -- including abortion outside of a clinic. Criminalization of abortion--combined with racist, sexist, and xenophobic criminal justice policies--means marginalized communities are doubly targeted.
broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/…

Making abortion illegal has no upside; it simply makes it inaccessible, denies patients the medical procedure and futures they desire, criminalizes patients and providers alike, and it has no medical safety benefits. Anti-abortion advocates are ignoring the science on abortion.

If you're covering the March for Life and their claim of embracing science, please be clear about what the science and evidence based-research actually says. There's a lot of published peer-reviewed and evidence-based research that counters the myths and rhetoric they're pushing.