The Myth That Abortion is Safer Than Childbirth: Through the Looking Glass

I. Abortion Mortality: Mythology and Methodology

Recent publications continue to put forth the same un-scientific and unsubstantiated claim that “The risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than with abortion.” However, a comparison of abortion mortality and maternal mortality is complicated by methodological problems:

• Incomplete reporting (Abortion Data Unreliable) • Definitional incompatibilities • Voluntary data collection • Research bias • Reliance on estimations • Political correctness • Inaccurate/incomplete death certificates • Failing to include all causes of death such as suicide • Incomparability with maternal mortality statistics