Rhetoric
vs. Reality

Abortion is safe, effective medical care.

A landmark national review and every major medical body, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, conclude that abortion in the U.S. is safe. Only about 2% of patients experience any complication, and most are minor — resolved with a follow‑up procedure or antibiotics. The risk of dying from childbirth is roughly 14 times higher than the risk from abortion. 1

Mifepristone is safe, effective medical care.

Mifepristone, used for medication abortion, is safe, effective, and has been widely used in the U.S. and globally for decades. According to FDA-approved labeling based on 10 clinical trials, “serious adverse events” occur in less than 0.5% of patients. 11

Decades of scientific evidence and leading medical authorities support the safety of mifepristone, including ACOG, the AMA, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and the WHO. 12

Two of the three recent reports making this 10% claim were subsequently retracted for serious methodological flaws by the same journal that published them. The third paper, self-published by the anti-abortion Ethics and Public Policy Center, has been criticized by 360 reproductive-health researchers for its methodology, including how it classified ordinary bleeding and additional treatment following an abortion as “serious adverse events.” 11 12

ACOG recognizes medication abortion as safe and effective up to 70 days, or 10 weeks, of pregnancy. 2 It is also now the most common option: pills account for more than half of all U.S. abortions — about 56% as of 2021, according to the CDC. 3 Additionally, the evidence is clear and compelling that mifepristone can be safely dispensed without requiring an in-person visit to a health care provider. 12

Abortion is common — and often it’s mothers who seek it.

About 1 in 4 women in the U.S. will have an abortion in her lifetime. 5 And 60% of people who seek abortion care are already parents. 6 For context, roughly 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and a clear majority of Americans — 62%  — say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 4

The vast majority of abortions happen early.

In 2021, 93% of abortions occurred in the first trimester  — at or before 13 weeks. About 6% took place between 14 and 20 weeks. 7 Abortions after 20 weeks make up roughly 1% of all abortion care, and typically involve severe fetal abnormalities or a serious threat to the pregnant person’s health or life. Because later abortion is so uncommon, public perception of it is shaped far more by political rhetoric than by the actual experience of patients and providers. 8

Abortion is a small share of the care Planned Parenthood provides.

According to its 2021–22 annual report, abortion care accounts for just 4% of Planned Parenthood’s services. The rest is the everyday reproductive and preventive healthcare that millions of people rely on. 9

Denying abortion care harms women, children, and families.

The landmark Turnaway Study followed people who sought abortions — some who received care, and some who were turned away. Those denied an abortion were more likely to fall into poverty, to lack money for basic living expenses, to report worse physical health, and to remain in violent relationships. They were three times more likely to be unemployed than those who obtained care. People who were able to get the care they sought were six times more likely to set positive life plans — and to achieve them. 10