Getting Out the Facts About Chemical Abortion

Americans are split on whether chemical abortions are mostly safe (44 percent) or not safe (33 percent), with a large proportion being unsure (24 percent). One in five respondents to a survey conducted by The Heritage Foundation were consistently unsure about many questions about chemical abortion, indicating a strong opportunity for education on the issue—enough to overcome pro-choice leads if the pro-life side is clear about the facts and risks.

The most commonly recognized risks were:

• More health implications than clinic-based abortions (33 percent);
• Hemorrhaging (32 percent); and
• Infection (31 percent).

According to the FDA’s [Food and Drug Administration’s] own data, 48% of women experience fever, chills, and vomiting, up to 15% experience hemorrhagic bleeding, and approximately 1 out of every 22 women taking chemical abortion drugs end up in the emergency room.

“Chemical abortion” was the most negatively viewed abortion term (38 percent negative), although nearly as many viewed it as positive (23 percent) or neutral (25 percent).

Given the information about the risks of chemical abortions, more Americans are in favor of the FDA revoking authorization altogether than in favor of continuing approval, but a large proportion remains unsure.

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