Ep. 130: Problems with US Abortion Statistics

Bioethics on Air

Joseph Meaney, NCBC Senior Fellow, joins Joe Zalot to discuss the challenges of obtaining accurate abortion statistics in the United States. Joseph speaks to how abortion statistics are currently obtained, who compiles them, and how chemical abortion (abortion pill) has clouded the overall picture. He also discusses how informed consent is often absent from a woman’s decision to abort. Resources 1. Joseph Meaney bio – https://www.ncbcenter.org/meet-the-ethicists/joseph-meaney-phd 2. “The Ethics of Abortion Statistics” – https://www.ncbcenter.org/messages-from-presidents/abortionstats 3. Whole Woman’s Heath v. Hellerstedt (2016) is the US Supreme Court case (the one we could not remember!) that ruled unconstitutional a Texas law requiring abortion centers in the state to have facilities comparable to ambulatory surgical centers. The court ruled the law placed a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking an abortion and thus constituted an undue burden on women to access abortion – https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/whole-womans-health-v-cole/ 4. NCBC Certification Program – https://www.ncbcenter.org/certification-program If you enjoy our podcasts, please consider making a donation to the NCBC at https://www.ncbcenter.org/donate