LifeSiteNews has waged some pretty pathetic wars (it condemned the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace for its humanitarian work in Latin America), but its war on emergency contraception is especially low. Along with other pro-life groups, it has deliberately confused women about the nature of EC, claiming that it causes abortion, and thus disagreeing with the FDA.

LifeSiteNews has outdone itself with yesterday’s "Over-the-Counter Abortion Pills Lead to Menstrual Complications."

The story claims that Indian doctors have found women “arbitrarily and repeatedly” using emergency contraception, and experiencing menstrual irregularities as a result. However, the next paragraph quotes a doctor who talks about “incomplete abortions” resulting from women self-dosing.

Self-dosing what? What is this story about?

LifeSiteNews’s vagueness and poor reporting is often offensive to journalists and discerning readers. But this article, one of the worst examples of its consistent mischaracterization of EC, is truly negligent. Reputable news source or not, LifeSiteNews should be ashamed of the damage it’s doing to women’s health.

What might a woman reading this article think?

1. She might think that the abortion pill, mifepristone (it’s no longer called RU-486), is available over-the-counter. It’s not.

2. She might think that Plan B, which is available over-the-counter, causes an abortion. If this woman is pregnant and is seeking an abortion, she may take EC and think that she’s ended her pregnancy.

3. If the woman above is seeking emergency contraception but doesn’t wish to have an abortion, she may not take Plan B because she thinks it’s an abortifacient. Or she may not take it because she’s too confused to think straight.

Scenario three is what anti-choice groups are going for. Their manipulation of women in this way is appalling, and pro-choice and pro-life women alike should let LifeSiteNews know that this kind of dishonesty brings down the pro-life movement.