{"id":292177,"date":"2023-06-01T12:38:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T17:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=292177"},"modified":"2024-09-20T12:10:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T17:10:20","slug":"induced-abortion-never-medically-necessary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/induced-abortion-never-medically-necessary\/","title":{"rendered":"Why FactCheck.org’s fact check on ‘medically necessary abortions’ is problematic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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According to FactCheck.org, abortion is “sometimes medically necessary” in “life-threatening complications” despite “Facebook posts claiming otherwise.” The article attempts to paint social media posts from Live Action \u2014 in which medical professionals<\/em> discuss why induced abortion is never medically necessary \u2014 as inaccurate, but the fact-check is ultimately unsound.<\/p>\n

FactCheck.org’s claim<\/h3>\n

FactCheck.org wrote<\/a>, “[A] Facebook post from the anti-abortion organization Live Action says, ‘Abortion is NEVER medically necessary.’ The post includes a video by neonatologist Kendra Kolb saying that even in high-risk situations, ‘there is no medical reason why the life of the child must be directly and intentionally ended with an abortion procedure.'”<\/p>\n

It also makes note of a shared post from Dr. Christina Francis, chairman of the board of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), in which she states that the intent of an induced abortion is to “produce a dead baby.” Francis clarifies that a dead baby is “not the intent when we intervene to save a woman’s life…”<\/p>\n

Both doctors state that preterm delivery is the procedure used during high-risk pregnancies and emergency situations to save a woman’s life. However, FactCheck.org argues that such comments are misleading.<\/p>\n

“Early delivery… suggests the fetus is developed enough to survive outside the womb… and many conditions … necessitate the termination of a pregnancy before that point,” the organization wrote.<\/p>\n

Yet the term “early delivery” in no way implies that a child will survive. It is, in fact, an obvious and well-known fact that not all prematurely delivered babies survive.<\/p>\n

As Live Action and Live Action News — along with many medical professionals \u2014 have explained for years, the difference here is in the intent<\/em> of the procedure, not necessarily the ultimate outcome<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Accidental death and intentional killing are not the same<\/em> even though the end result (death) is the same; likewise, an early delivery resulting in the unintentional<\/em> demise of a very premature child is not the same as induced abortion in which killing<\/em> the child is the intent and goal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One that intentionally kills a child through direct action or intentional neglect with the goal of a deceased child<\/em> is an induced abortion; one that delivers a child with the intent to save the mother’s life<\/em> \u2014 not to ensure the child’s death<\/em> \u2014 is not an induced abortion.<\/p>\n