Myth-Busting Monday: Are young people anti-abortion?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Despite the fact that over 1 in 3 women in the UK will experience abortion during their lives, abortion is still talked about in hushed tones, if at all. When it is discussed in the media, it is either part of a dramatic soap opera story line or sensationalist headlines. As a result, many young people are not aware that it is a common, safe, or legal procedure. They are often surprised to hear that the myths they are familiar with are just that – myths (hence us bustin’ myths every Monday!).  Working with young people in classrooms since 1992, our experience is that once young people have an opportunity to consider the different circumstances women are in when facing a decision about abortion, they tend to be extremely empathetic. Most young people EFC works with are outraged at the idea that someone else would want to stop them making their own mind up about the issue or stop them making their own decision about their pregnancy. Even young people who say they would never choose abortion themselves or recommend it for their partner often agree that it should be the individual woman’s choice and no one else’s.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do women from minority ethnic communities have abortions?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Women from all communities around the world and in the UK have abortions regardless of religion, ethnicity, age, belief or any other factor. Several years ago the Department of Health started to gather statistics on take up of abortion by ethnic group and found that all minority ethnic groups in the UK are using abortion services. In fact, women from these groups are having more abortions than women in the general population.  Reasons for this are unclear, but it may have to do with access and support around contraception.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do over-35s have abortions?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

This year the Fpa launched a campaign called ‘Conceivable’ to address this myth. Because the media is so filled with stories about women’s decreasing fertility after the age of 35, some older women may not actively plan and follow through with contraceptive use. There are more abortions to over-40s each year than there are to under-16s.  Many marketing and health promotion campaigns about pregnancy and STIs are aimed at younger women and teenagers, and it may be that older women are not getting the message that they too are at risk of pregnancy and STIs if they don’t protect themselves.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do religious people have abortions?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Women from every community around the world have abortions. About 4 million abortions are carried out in Latin America each year, despite the fact that the vast majority of the region is Roman Catholic. A woman’s faith, the legality of abortion and her community’s beliefs about abortion may feed into the decision-making process. However, women may also need to weigh up their own feelings, consider their material circumstances and the impact continuing this pregnancy would have on their lives and the lives of those around them. Sometimes these practical considerations outweigh religious ones and women choose abortion in spite of their religion.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do all religions oppose abortion?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Only the Catholic Church and some evangelical Christian churches oppose abortion in all circumstances. Most religions allow for some circumstances under which an abortion might be acceptable, for example to save a woman’s life.  Many religions, including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and the Church of England, arguably allow for abortion under some circumstances – some stricter than others. Many other religions and ethical systems, for example humanism, believe that the women herself is the only person who can weigh up her beliefs and circumstances to come to the right decision.  Despite religious doctrines, religious individuals also vary widely in their beliefs.  For example, Catholics for Choice is an organisation for Roman Catholics who are pro-contraception and pro-choice, despite the teachings of the Church.  For more on religion and abortion, visit the EFC website.

Myth-Busting Monday: Can rape result in pregnancy?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and takes names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

A particularly appalling myth, propagated by some anti-abortion groups, claims that women who are raped cannot get pregnant.  This myth relies on the fiction that the trauma of rape creates conditions in which conception is less likely. Not only is it simply untrue, as thousands of women from around the world can testify, but it is a particularly damaging myth which may leave women who are pregnant following rape feeling even more stigmatised and judged because it is assumed that they have either experienced a ‘trauma-free rape’ or not been raped at all.  For more information about support following sexual assault, visit Rape Crisis.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do abortions routinely take place right up until 24 weeks?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Abortions rarely take place later in pregnancy.  In fact, less than 2% of abortions take place after 20 weeks. Although abortion is a safe procedure overall, risks do increase with gestation, so it’s preferable for women to have abortions as early in pregnancy as possible. 90% of abortions now take place within the first 12 weeks. Early access also helps ensure women are able to access services closer to home. Women seeking abortion even after 12 weeks are often forced to travel out of their local areas to a small number of clinics around the country that offer later abortions.

Myth-Busting Monday: If it's my first time/I do it standing up/I'm on my period, can I get pregnant?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Although women are most at risk of pregnancy around the time they ovulate, women can get pregnant at all times of the month, in any position, at any time in their reproductive lives!  Many women use contraception inconsistently or not at all and may not get pregnant immediately, but this should not be taken to mean that they are not fertile. Even if they have been lucky a few times, they may not be the next time, so women who don’t want to be pregnant should assume that every sexual encounter puts them at risk of pregnancy and should use contraception.

Myth-Busting Monday: If everyone used contraception, would there still be a need for abortion?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

There are many methods of contraception, and most of them are reliant on the woman or her partner to use them consistently and correctly. Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARC) methods can be fitted for the woman by a doctor or nurse and do not rely on perfect usage.  These methods have an extremely high success rate in preventing pregnancy. Even so, all contraceptive methods occasionally fail (LARC fails less than others; see James Trussell’s presentation on why contraception fails). In fact, if every single contraception user worldwide used their chosen contraceptive methods perfectly, there would still be hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies each year around the world.

Despite the existence of effective methods of contraception, some women do not always find it easy to seek contraceptive care or advice or may find it hard to reach their local family planning clinic; others may find it hard to get support from their partners to use contraception; others may have the intention of using condoms or other barrier methods each time they have sex, but find it hard to remember to do so.  Sexual assault continues to be a massive problem in the UK and internationally, and can lead to unintended pregnancy. For many reasons the existence of contraception per se does not remove the need for the safety net of abortion for those women who haven’t successfully protected themselves against unwanted pregnancy.

Myth-Busting Monday: Do only teenagers have abortions?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Teenagers have about 40,000 abortions a year out of the 195,000 that are carried out in England and Wales each year.  About half of teenage pregnancies end in abortion (for women of all ages it’s 22%). However, while women in the 20-35 age bracket end a smaller proportion of their pregnancies in abortion, they have a lot more pregnancies altogether, and therefore a lot more abortions. In fact, there are more abortions performed on over-40s than there are for under-16s each year.

Myth-Busting Monday: Does abortion cause mental health problems?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Many people who oppose abortion claim that women who have abortions are at high risk of suffering from depression or suicidal feelings, but findings from methodologically sound (good quality) research studies from around the world find no evidence for this.  Most women are able to integrate the experience of abortion into their lives and can look forward to a healthy future. Many women express relief when they have had an abortion. Others feel regret that they were faced with what might have been a difficult decision for them and one they would rather have avoided having to make, but generally do not regret the abortion itself.  Where women do feel sadness or regret following abortion, it may come from the circumstances of the pregnancy rather than the abortion itself.  Those women who are at greatest risk of regret are those who feel ambivalent about the decision, or have been coerced or forced into having an abortion against their will, or have had previous experience of psychiatric problems.

For those women who do struggle emotionally following an abortion, for whatever reason, post-abortion counselling is available.  Abortion providers such as Marie Stopes and bpas offer post-abortion counselling.  For a list of registered, reliable pregnancy advisory services, visit the Department of Health website.

Myth-Busting Monday: Is abortion in the UK available "on demand"?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

The term “abortion on demand” describes an abortion law that allows women to choose abortion without interference from legal or medical authorities, usually within a given time limit.  In the UK, most GPs will refer a woman who asks for an abortion (and those who don’t should make provision for the patient to access another doctor who will refer, in line with General Medical Council guidance).  Additionally family planning clinics can also refer for abortion, and in some areas, central booking lines are available for patients to book their own abortions.  Nevertheless, abortion is not technically available “on demand” in England, Scotland and Wales (abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland). Two doctors must still authorise the abortion and there is a specific list of criteria that women must meet to access an abortion. The 1967 Abortion Act gives doctors the right to perform abortions legally under certain conditions. It does not provide women with the right to demand an abortion under any circumstances.  While it is true that any woman who wants an abortion within the legal time limit should be able to access one according to general medical guidance, UK law does not actually allow for abortion "on demand".

Myth-Busting Monday: Do your parents have to know about your abortion?

Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Young people under 16 have the right to confidential advice on contraception and abortion. Medical professionals will help a young person to explore the benefits of involving a parent or carer in their decision, but must respect a young person’s wish for confidentiality if that is what they choose. (There are some exceptions to confidentiality, such as if a young person is at risk of harming themselves or someone else.) A young woman can be referred for abortion without parental involvement if the doctor believes she is ‘competent’ to make this decision i.e. she has sufficient maturity understanding of the procedure they are requesting.  Most young women under 16 do choose to involve a parent or other adult relative when they have an abortion.

Myth-Busting Monday (a.k.a Tardy Tuesday): Does your GP need to know about your abortion?

Every Monday (or in this case, Tuesday- oops!) EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

You can get a referral for abortion at places other than your GP. If you are under 25, you can go to Brook or another young person’s contraceptive and sexual health clinic in your area; for women of all ages family planning clinics offer abortion referral. In some areas, women can ring up and book themselves in for an appointment to request an abortion referral directly from the abortion provider. If you don’t want information about your abortion being sent back to your GP to add to your medical records, you can request to keep the procedure confidential.

Myth-Busting Monday: Does abortion cause infertility?

Welcome to the first ever Myth-Busting Monday! Every Monday EFC busts myths and take names, cutting through the misinformation, disinformation, and straight up nonsense to bring you the facts.

Let’s start with the basics. One of the most common questions we get from young people and professionals alike is: does abortion cause infertility? There is no link between abortion and infertility. In fact, most women are fully fertile within two weeks of having an abortion, so it’s crucial to get advice to help choose and use an appropriate form of contraception right away. Some contraceptive methods can be fitted or initiated at the time of abortion and women seeking abortion should ask about this.

Myth one, consider yourself busted.