the controversy is growing

In the midst of the debate on the entry into the Constitution of abortion, C News broadcast a controversial infographic claiming that abortion was the leading cause of mortality in the world.

IVG (voluntary termination of pregnancy) is at the heart of the debates. Its inclusion in the French Constitution was approved by the National Assembly and will be examined this Wednesday, January 28 by the Senate. This Sunday, February 25, this subject was on the front page of the show In search of spirit broadcast on C News and Europe 1. While the subject was debated, an infographic titled “The causes of mortality in the world” was shared. She placed abortion first, ensuring that 73 million deaths per year were linked to abortion, followed by cancer with 10 million and tobacco with 6.2 million. These figures were taken up by presenter Aymeric Pourbaix: “In 2022, there were 234,300 abortions recorded in France. It is also the leading cause of mortality in the world, according to the Worldometer institute: 73 million in 2022, i.e. 52% of deaths.

This assimilation has sparked controversy. The information has been widely discredited. In France, in fact, abortion cannot be considered as a cause of death since to become a legal personality, one must be born alive and viable. The fetus is therefore not considered a human person.

To penalize this sequence, the Arcom would have been seized. In a letter sent to the public broadcasting police, the very source of the information would have been called into question, according to the Huffpost. Mathilde Panot, head of the LFI deputies, affirmed that “the cited source, a work carried out by the Worldometer site, in reality cites the World Health Organization estimating the number of abortions carried out each year, without making any reference to the mortality”.

For several politicians, including Ian Brossat, communist senator, C News engaged in “anti-abortion propaganda”. Green MP Sophie Taillé-Polian also expressed her dissatisfaction on

C news makes its mea culpa

It was through the voice of presenter Laurence Ferrari that the channel reacted to the controversy this Monday: “the C News channel apologizes to its viewers for this error which should not have happened”. “These are incomparable data, it is impossible to compare these figures and mirror them with those of mortality linked to cancer or tobacco,” added the presenter.

This is not the channel’s first report. Will sanctions be taken? The replay of the show has, in any case, been deleted. In mid-February, the Council of State had already called on Arcom to better control the channel.