Photographs of embryos and fetal tissue from four to nine weeks of gestation have been made publicly available by the MYA Network, and published in a number of media outlets.
The network was set up by clinicians and activists during the pandemic when some states in the USA tried to classify abortion as 'non-essential' medical care. The photographs have been released to counteract what they believe to be misleading information from anti-abortion activists, that has led to a public belief that embryos and fetuses are much more developed at this stage of pregnancy.
Speaking to the Guardian which published the photographs Dr Joan Fleischman, part of the MYA Network said: '[Abortion patients are] expecting to see a little fetus with hands – a developed, miniature baby [...] they feel they've been deceived.'
'I have been in the training field, and medical students and clinicians who see [these photographs] are also shocked. That is how pervasive this misinformation is.'
