Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts Falsely Claimed COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Miscarriages

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has been criticized for making false claims about COVID-19 vaccines and miscarriages. Roberts asserted that half of pregnant women who received COVID-19 vaccinations experienced a miscarriage, a statement directly contradicted by substantial medical evidence.

During a livestream with anti-vaccine mandate activists four years ago, Senator Roberts suggested the global miscarriage rate was around 13 percent. He then falsely stated that for women who had received a COVID-19 vaccine, the rate was 50 percent, and for those vaccinated in the first trimester, it was as high as 75 percent.

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For women who've been injected, it's 50 per cent.

However, a comprehensive systematic review published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2023, which analyzed 21 studies involving 149,685 women, found no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to an increased risk of miscarriage. Multiple studies available at the time Roberts made his comments, including one published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021, had already reached the same conclusion.

Senator Roberts' remarks were made during a Zoom livestream hosted by activist Michael Simms and posted to YouTube. The discussion also featured former Qantas captain Graham Hood and Michael O'Neill, founder of the Informed Medical Options Party. These comments have resurfaced as One Nation's increasing electoral success has brought more attention to its parliamentary team, including Roberts' past controversial statements on various topics.

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For women who've been injected in the first trimester, it is 75 per cent miscarriage rate.