New study finds women who choose supportive birth services over abortion benefit in tragic fetal anomaly cases

A new study analyzed the experiences of pregnant women who chose perinatal hospice care after their babies were diagnosed with life-limiting conditions, rather than seeking an abortion.

Overwhelmingly, the women found these services "very helpful" and expressed "a high degree of satisfaction with the care they received," the report from Christian nonprofit The Family Research Council said.

The study comes at a time when pro-life states grapple with whether to allow abortion exceptions in cases of fatal fetal anomalies.

Additionally, stories of women seeking abortions for life-threatening fetal anomalies since the fall of Roe v. Wade have made national headlines.

PRO-LIFE STATES CONSIDER ABORTION EXCEPTIONS IN CASES OF FATAL FETAL ANOMALIES

The FRC study surveyed 82 women in 11 hospice programs to determine who was choosing perinatal hospice, what type of care they were receiving, and how they felt about their experience in these programs.

Most of the respondents were married, White, and religious. Most had above average incomes and bachelor's degrees.

These women said they were commonly offered counseling, sonograms, mementos, prayer, support groups, a birth plan, burial and a memorial service. A large majority of the women reported high levels of satisfaction with the support they received and found the programs helpful for the grieving process.

"Overall, women expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the care they received from perinatal hospices with 83 percent of women reporting the level of emotional support from the perinatal hospice as 'very supportive' and 79 percent of women unable to note anything from the program that was not helpful in the grieving process,'" the FRC said in a media release.

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