{"id":128478,"date":"2016-10-18T13:44:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T17:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=128478"},"modified":"2016-10-18T16:07:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T20:07:00","slug":"can-we-trust-new-study-claiming-women-certain-about-abortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/can-we-trust-new-study-claiming-women-certain-about-abortions\/","title":{"rendered":"Can we trust the new study claiming women are sure about their abortions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A\u00a0recent study<\/a> published in\u00a0the journal Contraception<\/em>\u00a0has been cited by\u00a0several media outlets<\/a>\u00a0as supporting the idea\u00a0that mandatory waiting periods for women seeking abortion are unnecessary. Women seeking abortion are more certain of their choice than women\u00a0making other “health” related decisions, the authors claim. Five hundred\u00a0Utah women in four clinics were surveyed before their abortions, and 63% of the women were surveyed three weeks later.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0large percentage\u00a0had\u00a0their abortions, while 11% were still pregnant. The findings \u201cdirectly challenge the narrative that decision-making on abortion is somehow exceptional,\u201d the study\u2019s lead author, epidemiologist Lauren Ralph, claimed. \u201cAnd it calls into question whether women would universally benefit\u201d from restrictions such as waiting periods and mandatory counseling services or even ultrasounds, Ralph told<\/a> Slate.<\/p>\n

But can we trust this study, its authors, or the journal which published it? Media outlets failed to question the affiliations or associations of the study’s\u00a0authors or of those leading the publication journal itself — but\u00a0they should have, because those involved\u00a0have significant\u00a0ties to the abortion industry. The publication’s editorial board itself is full of industry personnel who have a financial\u00a0interest in furthering abortion, as do the study’s authors.<\/p>\n

The Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The current editor of\u00a0Contraception<\/em>\u00a0is none other than\u00a0Dr. Carolyn Westhoff<\/a><\/strong>, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America senior medical advisor who\u00a0was heard and seen on undercover Center for Medical Progress recordings<\/a>\u00a0discussing\u00a0how the fetal tissue (including the gonads of unborn baby boys) she provides for research is “fresh.”\u00a0Westhoff\u00a0was also involved in the\u00a0clinical trials<\/a>\u00a0of RU-486\u00a0and has previously\u00a0testified<\/a>\u00a0in favor of keeping\u00a0partial-birth abortion legal:<\/p>\n