A scientific paper that raised concerns about the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone was retracted by its publisher this week. The study was cited three times by a federal judge who ruled against mifepristone last spring. That case, which could limit access to mifepristone throughout the country, will soon be heard in the Supreme Court.
The now retracted study used Medicaid claims data to track E.R. visits by patients in the month after having an abortion. The study found a much higher rate of complications than similar studies that have examined abortion safety.
Sage, the publisher of the journal, retracted the study on Monday along with two other papers, explaining in a statement that “expert reviewers found that the studies demonstrate a lack of scientific rigor that invalidates or renders unreliable the authors’ conclusions.”
It also noted that most of the authors on the paper worked for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of anti-abortion lobbying group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and that one of the original peer reviewers had also worked for the Lozier Institute.
But it looks like the damage is done. Even if they’ve retracted it.
Much like with Wakefield’s “research” on how vaccines cause autism. But the damage was already done.
If the study didn’t exist the judge just wouldn’t have cited it. It helped I’m sure but this whole thing was a conclusion waiting for a reason. “Packing” the Supreme Court was enough to get it started. They even shopped around for a friendly district to ensure they got the ruling they wanted.
