Abortion

Does data given to the Food and Drug Administration before Pfizer COVID-19 shots were officially approved show up to 97 percent of vaccinated pregnant women lost their babies? No, that's not true: The Pfizer document that was released as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit does not provide the total number of pregnant women in 63 countries…

Has Walmart announced a plan to offer abortion services? No, that's not true: The creator of a video that made the claim labelled as satirical his "report" that the major retailer would offer abortion services . The claim appeared in a video posted to Facebook May 14, 2022, by Mark Dice, an Internet personality who has published other satirical videos.…

Does joining The Satanic Temple give a member legal protection to terminate a pregnancy? Not necessarily: According to legal experts, it could -- but joining "opportunistically" probably won't be applicable. Or as Mark Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law emeritus at Harvard Law School, wrote in an email to Lead Stories on May 4, 2022, such a claim…

Are people in Alabama who seek or get an abortion "thrown in prison for life," even if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest? No, that's not true: There's no such law in Alabama. In 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill designed to essentially ban abortion in the state, except for when an abortion…

Did Tennessee and Missouri ban Plan B and other emergency contraceptive pills? No, that's not true: These states are not banning Plan B and other morning-after pills at the time of writing. Tennessee legislators passed a bill criminalizing certain actions by health professionals related to abortion-inducing pills, which are entirely different than emergency contraceptive pills. Meanwhile, discussions about Missouri's abortion…

Does the Netherlands have the lowest abortion rate in the world? No, that's not true: Although the Netherlands has a low abortion rate, with data showing that it has an estimated average annual rate of seven abortions per 1,000 women, it is not the lowest in the world. That title belongs to both Singapore and Switzerland, which, according to the…

Is former President Barack Obama a Muslim? No, that's not true: He has spoken frequently about being a Christian, not a Muslim. He gave speeches about his Christian faith before and during his eight-year presidency. The site that posted the image and claimed Obama's religion is Sunni Muslim usually shares memes, jokes and military-related posts. The claim appeared in a…

Did Colorado Gov. Jared Polis sign a bill that legalizes abortion up until the time of birth? Not exactly: Although Polis did sign HB22-1279, also known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act, or RHEA, that bill only codified the state's already existing reproductive rights into Colorado law and prevents state and local interference in reproductive measures such as abortion. Even…

Did California introduce a new bill that would allow mothers to kill their babies up to seven days after birth? No, that's not true: Under California State Assembly Bill 2223, a person would not have a license to kill (LTK) their baby for a week after they're born. The author of the bill suggested an amendment to clarify its immunity…

Is the Maryland General Assembly "about to vote" on a controversial pregnancy "freedom" bill? Not exactly: Maryland legislators proposed the Pregnant Person's Freedom Act of 2022, which is in committee, but at the time of writing the bill is not undergoing a final vote, as implied by a social media post. The claim was implied in a Facebook post (archived…