Planned Parenthood CEO took to Twitter on Tuesday to again spread misinformation, this time claiming that late term abortions are “rare” and only used in the case of an abnormality with the child, or when necessary to save the life of the mother.
It turns out that her claims are actually false. Late term abortions are not nearly as rare as they should be, and there is never any instance where having an abortion would save the life of the mother.
With regards to Wen’s claims that late term abortions are rare, it is true that abortions at that stage of pregnancy are less common, but sadly, they still happen far too often. The CDC estimates that roughly 13,000 late-term abortions are performed in the United States each year. Lifenews details a sobering statistic for comparison, illustrating that 13,000 people is a staggering number, especially when innocent human life is the topic of conversation:
The FBI estimates that an average of 13,246 people were murdered using a firearm each year between 2012 and 2016. That’s roughly the same number of babies killed in late-term abortions. But that hasn’t stopped the left, which categorically promotes both expanded access to abortion and gun control as cornerstones of their platform, from regularly portraying gun violence as a widespread epidemic – despite having nearly the exact same rate of occurrence.
Secondly, Wen claims that late term abortions are only performed in order to save the life of a mother, but this assertion is factually incorrect. Live Action News emphatically disputes Wen’s assertion:
The abortion procedure is not – ever – necessary to save the life of a mother. There are, however, maternal health risks that require a treatment that cause the unfortunate, indirect, and unintentional death of an unborn child. For instance, in life-threatening ectopic pregnancies that require removal of a Fallopian tube, the pregnancy (including the unborn child) will be removed along with the Fallopian tube. The intention in this procedure is first and foremost to save the life of the mother, and in order to do so, a physician must perform a procedure that indirectly causes the death of her unborn child.
This is not an abortion. Furthermore, a true abortion – in which the direct intention is to end the life of a human being – is not a treatment for any type of maternal health risk. Abortions never save mothers, but procedures which by their nature may indirectly lead to a child’s death sometimes save the life of the mother.
Wen’s assertions are incorrect and can only be driven by a desire to promote abortion. Herself a former emergency room doctor, Wen must know the inaccuracy of her statements. However, as the head of Planned Parenthood, she cares more about meeting Planned Parenthood’s bottom dollar, than providing women with factual details about their pregnancy.