Recent changes in Texas legislature governing abortions have my attention.1
I told a friend of my support for the expanded list of complications to be reported; he challenged me to show data supporting the need for these additional details.
Because reporting abortion data is voluntary, data gathering is a big challenge.
In 2020, California, Maryland and New Hampshire did not report their abortion data to the CDC, an estimated ~20% of the US’ procedures. The States that do provide abortion data aren’t consistent in what details are reported.2
Guttmacher, a pro-choice women’s rights advocacy group, are more diligent in their research, contacting service providers directly nation-wide.
Based on available data for 2020, there were:
Over 20% of American “products of conception” (otherwise known as babies, fetus, embryo, etc.) were aborted, but not without risk (~40% of clinical abortions resulted in complications). Studies based on data help address the risk factors.5
NOTE: Neither CDC nor Guttmacher abortion data include information for at-home terminations using “morning after” drugs available outside of clinical environments. Following SCOTUS’s recent decision, one online provider of abortion pills reports sales going from ~83 to ~214 orders per day (~78k/year).6
Prior to December 2021, Texas required a report of any "abortion complication" or "adverse event", explicitly:
shock;
uterine perforation;
cervical laceration;
hemorrhage;
aspiration or allergic response;
infection;
sepsis;
death of the patient;
incomplete abortion;
damage to the uterus; [or]
an infant born alive after the abortion;
Since the passing of Texas SB4 in December 2021, these complications must also be reported:
blood clots resulting in pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis;
failure to actually terminate the pregnancy;7
pelvic inflammatory disease;
endometritis;
missed ectopic pregnancy;
cardiac arrest;
respiratory arrest;
renal failure;
metabolic disorder;
embolism;
coma;
placenta previa in subsequent pregnancies;
preterm delivery in subsequent pregnancies;
fluid accumulation in the abdomen;
hemolytic reaction resulting from the administration of ABO-incompatible blood or blood products;
adverse reactions to anesthesia or other drugs; or
any other adverse event as defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration's criteria provided by the MedWatch Reporting System.
In 2019, not including those in States that declined to report, 4 women died of complications.8
“The incidence of abortion-related emergency department visits within six weeks of the initial abortion procedure is about 40%.”9
Regardless of your views on abortion, I hope you’ll join me in advocating for disclosure.
Or, help me understand why you’d want to keep these known risks in the closet.
Let’s do this!
California conducts over 1/4 of the nation’s abortions, but they do not report the results or the complications associated with these procedures. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/ss/ss7110a1.htm#T15_down