Report: Delays reduce quality of abortion care

WASHINGTON — Abortions in the U.S. are very safe, but getting one without facing delays and false medical information depends on where women live, according to a Friday report containing a broad examination of the nation’s abortion services.

The report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine shows abortion increasingly is performed early in pregnancy, when it’s safest. The risk of maternal death is higher from tonsillectomies, colonoscopies and childbirth, according to the independent panel, which advises the government on scientific issues.

While state restrictions may be intended to reduce overall abortions, the panel said those barriers can reduce the quality of care for women who undergo the procedure by preventing them from receiving the type of abortion that best meets their needs in a timely, equitable, science-based manner.

Among the examples cited in the report: Missouri and four other states require waiting 72 hours after mandated abortion counseling. Large studies show abortion doesn’t lead to breast cancer, contrary to patient information provided by five states including Kansas. Fourteen states require a medically unnecessary pre-abortion ultrasound, and 17 require that all methods, even the abortion pill mifepristone, be offered in clinics that meet hospital-like standards.

“Clearly some of the regulations are having a real impact on quality,” said panel co-chairman Dr. Helene Gayle, a public health specialist and president of Chicago Community Trust.

The findings echo previous safety reports and a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that gutted a sweeping Texas anti-abortion law by citing medically unnecessary limits. States have tested the limits of abortion law since it was legalized in 1973 and as the methods to provide it have evolved.

According to the report, the abortion rate dropped from about 29 per 1,000 women of reproductive age in 1980 to about 15 in 2014. Better contraception, fewer unintended pregnancies and state restrictions may have played a role, the report said.