Ibis Reproductive Health

Refuting biased, agenda-driven (BAD) science on abortion

Biased, agenda-driven (BAD) science has become increasingly dominant in academia, politics, and public debate. Within the reproductive rights movement, this genre of “research” influences policy and advocacy. Some key examples of BAD research used to further an anti-abortion and anti-reproductive rights agenda include: legislation mandating that women seeking abortion be told there is a link between abortion and breast cancer (despite an American Cancer Society review of the data that says otherwise); the proliferation of abstinence-only sex education programs; and continued publication of flawed studies asserting that abortion is linked with adverse psychological sequelae, which are cited in legislation and court cases.

Through a series of conferences, panels, and presentations, Ibis strives to confront and bring attention to the impact of BAD science. Through facilitating conversations with researchers and advocates in the reproductive rights field and beyond, we aim to highlight proactive strategies challenging BAD science, refute BAD findings in the peer-reviewed literature and press, brainstorm ways to utilize these methods within the reproductive health community, and develop broader coalitions between the reproductive health movement and the rest of the embattled scientific community.

Resources:

"Politicized Science: How Anti-Abortion Myths Feed the Christian Right Agenda." The Public Eye. Political Research Associates: Summer 2006, Vol. XX, No. 2. Download

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