Guidance for Journalists: What to know when covering a story of someone being criminalized for how their pregnancy ended

This resource was created by If/When/How.

Our research on the criminalization of self-managed abortion, and our experience working directly with clients on their criminal cases, has repeatedly shown us that police and prosecutors misrepresent cases of reproductive criminalization to media outlets. This misrepresentation can have devastating impacts on the people at the center of the story. We hope that this guidance will equip journalists with the resources needed to navigate these complicated cases in a way that can reduce harm to the person being criminalized for normal reproductive outcomes, like abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth.