Time after time, we've seen maternal death statistics compared to abortion death statistics with the implication that abortions are safer than childbirth. Yet, according to this -
Misclassification of Maternal Deaths -- Washington State deaths from abortion
are considered maternal deaths.Several categories of maternal deaths may not be found through record linkage if they are misclassified on death certificates. The first category includes maternal deaths that may not generate a record of pregnancy outcome. This includes maternal deaths from ectopic pregnancy, gestational trophoblastic disease, induced abortion, and first-trimester spontaneous abortion, as well as maternal deaths that occur during pregnancy.
So, the DUmmies look at
a subset of Maternal deaths, then compare that subset back to the total to come up with the "fact" that abortion is safer than childbirth.
That's like comparing the number of highway deaths in Prius cars to the total of all highway deaths, and deciding that the Prius are the safest cars on the road.
