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30 Issues L. & Med. 209 (2015)
The Myth That Abortion is Safer than Childbirth: Through the Looking Glass

handle is hein.journals/ilmed30 and id is 217 raw text is: The Myth That Abortion is Safer Than Childbirth: Through the Looking Glass Byron C. Calhoun, M.D., FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MBA* I. Abortion Mortality: Mythology and Methodology Recent publications continue to put forth the same un-scientific and unsub- stantiated claim that The risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than with abortion.' However, a comparison of abortion mortality and maternal mortality is complicated by methodological problems: Incomplete reporting (Abortion Data Unreliable) * Definitional incompatibilities * Voluntary data collection Research bias * Reliance on estimations * Political correctness Inaccurate/incomplete death certificates Failing to include all causes of death such as suicide * Incomparability with maternal mortality statistics II. Incomplete Reporting: (Abortion Data Unreliable) There are no federal reporting requirements for abortion in the United States.'2 Only 26 states require providers to report.3',4 And the data provided are estimates: Many state health departments are able to obtain only incomplete data from abortion providers, and in some states, only 40-50% of abortions are reported. I The CDC collects maternal mortality data in 2 separate systems: National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) • Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System (PMSS) For example 1995-97 NVSS reported 898 deaths while the PMSS reported 1,387 deaths. Only 54% reported in both systems.6 Due to the incomplete nature of the data collection, CDC cautions medical professionals not to make comparative statements on * Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia Universi- ty-Charleston, Charleston, WV

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