Week in Review
American Medical Association Study Finds That DIY Abortions Have Gone Up
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that “self-managed abortions” increased significantly in the US between 2021 and 2023. While many are aware that abortion pill numbers have skyrocketed in the last four years (though these numbers remain largely underreported), researchers have discovered that the number of US women of reproductive age who committed abortions on themselves increased from 2.4% to 3.4% between 2021 and 2023.
Some key takeaways from their findings include:
- 25.9% of SMAs were commonly done with herbs, 29.7% with emergency contraception, 21.6% by hitting themselves in the stomach, and 18.6% alcohol or other substances.
- There was a 2% increase in women using misoprostol from 2021 to 2023 and a 4.4% increase of women using mifepristone to commit abortions on their own.
- Similarly to other abortion statistics, self-administered abortions increased among black women at 5.1% versus any other race or ethnic groups.
- Those who identified with LGBTQ+ lifestyles accounted for 5.8% of women who said they performed a DIY abortion. This was higher than the 2.9% of women who identified as heterosexual/straight.
This study’s researchers do take a pro-abortion position as to why the number of SMAs has grown, and they even claimed that these numbers have risen because of limited access to abortions at facilities. The Catholic News Agency noted in its analysis of the JAMA study that some of these researchers are associated with Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.
In their conclusion, the researchers propose the following resolution:
In this serial nationally representative survey study, increased SMA was observed following the loss of federal abortion protections. The findings revealed increased SMA use among marginalized groups, most often with ineffective methods. These findings suggest the need to expand access to alternative models of safe and effective abortion care and ensure those seeking health care post-SMA do not face legal risks. . . . (emphasis added)
Efforts to connect people who are pregnant with safe and effective methods of SMA with medication abortion pills, as well as efforts to ensure health care clinicians are aware of SMA, may help mitigate some of the legal and health risks people who attempt SMA will face.
We know that expanding baby-killing is no solution for the disturbing rise of self-administered abortion numbers, nor is it a solution for anything. We at ALL propose the following instead: Rather than suggesting that women “need” to kill their babies to live fulfilled lives, let’s work to offer support (medical, emotional, financial, spiritual) to pregnant mothers in need so that they can support themselves and their babies. Let’s help women see the invaluable worth of their babies’ lives and their own lives.
These numbers are rising because we are not doing enough to assist in changing hearts and minds to see the worth of all human life. Let us pray for the conversion of hearts and minds of all of those who force or lead these women to turn to abortion. May this study’s findings encourage us to work harder than ever in our efforts.
ALL in the News
Susan Ciancio, editor of Celebrate Life Magazine and director of the Culture of Life Studies Program—ALL’s pro-life education program for students in pre-K-12th grade—wrote an op-ed about the far left’s goal of destroying womanhood and authentic femininity. The article was featured on LifeSiteNews. She also wrote a blog listing seven great ways for families to serve others during Family Fun Month.
Judie Brown was also featured in a LifeSiteNews article condemning Catholic politician Kellyanne Conway for her anti-life views.
Twice a week, Judie’s commentaries are distributed to an expansive media list. The list contains over 100 media outlets such as Fox News, The Federalist, Breitbart, and The Daily Caller, among others. Judie’s commentaries are each featured on the front page of ALL.org.
Pro-Life Education
Culture of Life Studies Program
wo new CLSP lessons have taken the world by storm. St. Ignatius: Loving and Caring for the Whole Person teaches middle schoolers about St. Ignatius, his dreams of being a knight, and how he taught to care for the whole person. ORDER HERE
And St. Ignatius: Cura Personalis is a two-day high school lesson that teaches students about the Ignatian concept of cura personalis—care for the whole person—in their own lives and in how they deal with others. Through readings, discussion, and thought-provoking activities, students will come to understand the importance of caring for a person, both body and soul. SHOP NOW
ALL’s Education Materials
A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small explains how inaccurate science leads to the dehumanizing of preborn babies. From the moment the sperm fertilizes the egg, a new human being is created and begins growing exponentially each day. Containing a scientifically accurate and descriptive illustration of a baby’s development, this brochure not only takes you on a five-week journey with the baby as you watch him grow, but it identifies the language used by some in the scientific community who strive to obfuscate the truth about when a human being’s life truly begins—a tactic that results in more abortions and more dead babies. SHOP NOW
Pro-Life Social Media
Pro-Life Advocates Are Still Getting This One Thing Wrong
Haven’t we fixed this misinformation yet? Why is this still happening?
social justice begins in the womb
— March for Life (@March_for_Life) August 7, 2024
WE fight for the future in the Pro-Life movement… as the future begins in the womb.
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) August 6, 2024
Equality begins in the womb. Without the right to life, all other rights are completely meaningless.#RepealSection9 pic.twitter.com/Ec1IT0lQvm
— Precious Life (@PreciousLifeCom) July 27, 2024
*sigh.
Pro-life groups and advocates love a good slogan. Unfortunately, science tells us this isn’t true. Some things DO begin in the womb. A preborn baby’s placenta begins in the womb. His first audio cues begin in the womb. Babies sticking their tongues out begin in the womb. A baby’s life, however, DOES NOT begin in the womb. If his life doesn’t begin there, then neither do things like equality, social justice, or fatherhood.
These rights begin before the newly created child has been implanted. For most of us that’s the oviduct or fallopian tube. For others, it begins in a petri dish because they were victims of IVF. So how do we fix this error? Watch our video below, and you’ll have the knowledge to refute every instance of “human rights begin in the womb.” If we’re going to protect preborn children from the moment of their creation, we can’t omit the ones created in laboratories.
