How Texas’s State Health Department Is Trying To Scare Women Off Abortions

After the Supreme Court struck down harsh and unnecessary clinic regulations across the state of Texas earlier this year, it seemed like safe, straightforward, legal access to abortion was going to be the new normal for people in the Lone Star State. However, on Monday, the Texas State Health Department released an updated edition of a government-issued booklet about abortion that's got one glaring issue: it lies. This is a pretty big problem, especially since a law passed in 2003 mandates the booklet (called “A Woman’s Right to Know") be given to all pregnant people considering abortion. It's filled with information about pregnancy, as well as alternatives to abortion. It's clear where the booklet stands on the issue, so much so that it stretches the truth. Quartz reports that a section of the book suggests a connection between breast cancer and abortion. “If you give birth to your baby, you are less likely to develop breast cancer in the future,” reads the booklet. “Research indicates that having an abortion will not provide you this increased protection against breast cancer.” Here's the thing: this has already been refuted by a number of studies, and the American Cancer Society released a statement that also denied this claim. "Linking these topics creates a great deal of emotion and debate," the website reads. "But scientific research studies have not found a cause-and-effect relationship between abortion and breast cancer." The decision to abort is never taken lightly, and the more information that's out there the better. Let's just make sure it's accurate.