Pro-life leaders rip 'inherently tainted' research purporting to debunk abortion 'regret'

Fox News ^ | January 15, 2020 | Sam Dorman | Fox News

[Morgana]

Pro-life leaders are denouncing recent research that purports to debunk the idea women regret their abortions -- fueling debate surrounding the basis for regulating the procedure.

A long list of media outlets reported on the study, released Sunday, with headlines like CNN's: "The majority of women feel relief, not regret, after an abortion, study says." Vice appeared more supportive, running the headline: "Most Women Don’t Regret Abortions. Why Would They?"

The reports on the study, authored by University of California professor Corinne Rocca, also appeared to ignore critical information.

Although CNN included comment from Rocca, it neither included any perspectives from pro-life advocates nor claimed to have reached out to them for comment. These perspectives also were missing from a Guardian article on the research. Business Insider claimed that Rocca's study "shows" the premise behind pro-life laws "is faulty." And, while the outlet didn't include pro-life comments, it did cite a professor who compared some pro-life advocates to "climate change deniers."

The left-leaning Salon similarly published an op-ed from Rocca, who argued that her research effectively quashed what she called a "red herring" used to push regulations on abortion.

Rocca's research utilized the Turnaway Study, which followed women over five years after obtaining abortions, asking them how they felt about their decisions. Many women, Rocca wrote, felt relief and the overwhelming majority believed their decision was the right one.

But, pro-life advocates said the research came from a "pro-abortion" source, showed severe selection bias and used a time frame too short for measuring the effects of trauma effectively.

None of these outlets included concerns about selection bias or the source of the research.

[Morgana]

There is abortion regret but the other side tries so hard to hide it.

[Gay State Conservative]

I never knew this until after my Mom died but my (much) older brother told me that she had had a miscarriage before I was born and she deeply mourned it until the day she died.

She never breathed a word of it to me...but then I was only in my early 20s when she died. I guess she might have told me if I was older...and more mature.

Women who celebrate their abortions (IIRC that's the new trend) are either delusional or psychopaths.

[HeadOn]

Thanks for posting. This is an important topic.

We have to be careful, though. I think we make a mistake if we accept this premise and argue on that basis.

Regret or no regret, a child is dead. Regarding the right or wrong of abortion, the mother’s feelings should not be the issue.

I understand that women will be torn apart, and I feel so badly for anyone who’s done that.

But I still think we always ought to respond to ANY pro-choice argument first with, “A child is dead.”

[PrairieLady2]

Many women do initially feel relief that the pressure is off them. But the regret comes creeping in, in unsuspecting ways.

There’s a difference between miscarriage and abortion in that one questions ones fault with miscarriage, but one KNOWS one’s own fault with abortion.