Yahoo News Fact Check: Free Abortions, Vasectomies Offered in Chicago During 2024 DNC — Just Not at Convention Site
Claim:
Planned Parenthood said it would provide free medical abortions and vasectomies in Chicago during the week of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Rating:
What's True:
Planned Parenthood announced it would send two mobile health clinics to provide vasectomies and medication-based abortion services in Chicago during the convention. However ...
What's False:
... These activities would not take place at the site of the convention itself but rather at two locations relatively close to the site. In addition, Planned Parenthood isn't associated with the Democratic Party or its 2024 annual convention.
Free abortions and vasectomies were to be offered in Chicago during the week of the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), according to rumors that spread on the internet in the days leading up to it in August 2024:
(Todd Starnes/Facebook)
The claim also appeared on X in posts by conservative media sources Fox News and NewsNation. The online response was mixed, with some commenters expressing amusement ("Wow, the Democrats know how to throw a convention," someone commented on Reddit. "Good to know."), and others expressing outrage (archived):
Dear @Evangels4Harris there is no justifying the demonic murder of the unborn.
So to offer FREE abortions during the #DNCConvention is evil. Pure evil on public display.
Vote BIBLICAL VALUES.
Vote for LIFE. pic.twitter.com/Nq6Vpi8kpB— Dr. Malachi - (Dr. Run) (@malachiobrien) August 18, 2024
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized the initiative, asking people to "choose life."
The claim was true. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers' mobile clinic indeed announced on X on Aug. 14, and later on Facebook, that it would offer free abortions and vasectomies in Chicago during the week the convention was held, and even provided a link for registration (archived):
Here we come, Chicago! 🚐 Our mobile health clinic will be in the West Loop with @ChiAbortionFund & @TheWienerCircle Aug 19-20, providing FREE vasectomies & medication abortion. EC will also be available for free without an appointment.
Reserve your spot: https://t.co/AVCDTg2FAj pic.twitter.com/6C5oFuXacU— Planned Parenthood Great Rivers (@ppgreatrivers) August 14, 2024
"EC" here stood for "emergency contraception," which the team said would be available for free without the need to make an appointment. (Great Rivers is located in Missouri, a state that made abortions illegal in 2022.)
However, it was not true, as some social media posts claimed, that these medical services would be provided at the site of the convention. "Yes, we are providing these services for free," Nick Dunne, communications director for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, told Snopes via email. "However we are not at or affiliated with the DNC."
The organization continued to advertise its initiative until Aug. 18, 2024, the day before the DNC was set to begin. Clicking on the link to the form, Snopes was able to confirm that there were no more appointments available as of that date, an indication that the initiative had been successful:
Addressing concerns that there were no more appointment slots left, the website added that Planned Parenthood would be able to send pills (a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol) for medical abortions by mail in the state of Illinois via the Planned Parenthood Direct application (archived):
https://x.com/ppgreatrivers/status/1825010521474535504
In Illinois, medical abortions are authorized until the 12th week of pregnancy and these can be done in a medical setting or at home. They entail taking mifepristone first, to stop the production of progesterone, then misoprostol, which causes the body to expel the pregnancy. According to the Mayo Clinic, most vasectomies are reversible.
Sources:
Patel, AbhishekP, and RyanP Smith. 'Vasectomy Reversal: A Clinical Update'. Asian Journal of Andrology, vol. 18, no. 3, 2016, p. 365. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.4103/1008-682X.175091.
Planned Parenthood Expands Availability of Medication Abortion to 12 Weeks of Pregnancy for Patients in Illinois. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-great-rivers/newsroom/press-releases/planned-parenthood-expands-availability-of-medication-abortion-to-12-weeks-of-pregnancy-for-patients-in-illinois. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-great-rivers. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Reporter, Giulia Carbonaro US News. 'Marjorie Taylor Greene Attacks "Free Vasectomies and Abortions" near DNC'. Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-attacks-free-vasectomies-abortions-dnc-1940781.
Where Can I Get an Abortion? | U.S. Abortion Clinic Locator. https://www.abortionfinder.org/abortion-guides-by-state/abortion-in-missouri. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
