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On 6 May 2016, a Facebook user published a status update, which was shared thousands of times, claiming that presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had specific and identical plans for abortions in the United States: The post included a photograph of a newborn baby ostensibly born several weeks early and encouraged fellow social media users to share this post and get the word out. This post employed the hashtag #Boycott36, although that tag did not appear to be part of any existing movement or initiative beforehand. A previous Facebook status update was nearly identical in substance, but that earlier post mentioned neither Clinton nor Sanders, saying only that the poster had read that undefined people want to increase the limit for abortions to 36 weeks: Both versions were vague and misleading. We contacted a clinic that provides late-term abortions to ask about the circumstances under which such a procedure would be performed, and they told us that terminations in the 36th week of pregnancy typically occur due to a fetal incompatibility with life (that is, the fetus would not survive to term) that was somehow not diagnosed until late into the pregnancy. A May 2016 fact sheet published by Guttmacher did not include specific numbers about late-term abortions, but a chart indicated that only 1.3 percent of all abortions occurred after the 21-week mark: In 2010, 2011, and 2012 (the most recent years for which statistics were available), the Centers for Disease Control recorded 765,651 abortions, 730,322 abortions, and 699,202 abortions respectively. A three-year average of those numbers was 731,725. 1.3 percent of that average worked out to roughly 9,512 abortions at or after the 21-week mark per year. According to Guttmacher, 43 states expressly prohibit abortion either after the fetus was viable or at a specific numerical point in the pregnancy [PDF]. The #Boycott36 claim did not mention the fact that abortions were already illegal at or past the 20-week point in all but seven states and the District of Columbia. Both Sanders and Clinton list their positions on the issues on their campaign web sites. Clinton's position can be found on the Women's rights and opportunity section of her site, and it does not mention raising gestational age limits for abortion: Sanders' position is more detailed, but again does not mention raising gestational age limits in any way: Both Sanders and Clinton spoke about their positions on the topic of abortion during a March 2016 Town Hall appearance on Fox News. Sanders said he supports fewer restrictions than Clinton: Neither Sanders nor Clinton have expressly argued for 36-week abortions, nor is that policy embraced or argued for by most pro-choice groups. Only 1.3 percent of abortions occur at or after the 21-week mark, and only seven states allow late-term abortions. We were also unable to locate any statements from either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders maintaining that late-term fetuses felt no pain or had any rights. The 36 week abortion (or #Boycott36) rumor was one of several inaccurate claims about abortion to circulate on social media during the 2016 elections. In November 2015, claims about a scientifically discredited abortion reversal procedure circulated, and two separate rumors misleadingly claimed support was growing for post-birth abortions. In April 2016, another rumor made rounds regarding an abortion doctor purportedly strangling a baby born alive, a claim that was actually based on an incident that was nearly four decades old.
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