Abortion Distortion

What about miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy?

Since the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in 2022, there have been claims that “abortion bans” prohibit women experiencing miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies from getting medical care. This is simply not true.

It’s important to understand that ending an ectopic pregnancy and treatment after a miscarriage are both different from an "elective" or induced abortion. Any ER can treat women for ectopic pregnancies, life threatening complications, and miscarriages.

In cases of miscarriage, the baby has already died, and the mother will need to deliver the remains or have a procedure to remove them.

In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube. It’s impossible for the baby to survive there, and continued pregnancy can be life-threatening for the mother.(1) Since the pregnancy is not in the uterus, none of the procedures used for abortion will end the pregnancy. In fact, if a woman takes chemical abortion drugs without an exam or ultrasound and she has an ectopic pregnancy, she could die. Ectopic pregnancies require surgical removal of the embryo from the fallopian tube.

Sadly, there’s no way to re-implant the embryo in the womb, and it’s too young to survive on its own. So, in order to save the life of the mother, an ectopic pregnancy is ended either with a medication called methotrexate or laparoscopic surgery.(2) In over 90% of cases, the embryo has already died by the time it’s been detected.(3)

No abortion ban prohibits women from receiving necessary medical care for these situations.(4)