Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe has conceded that images she claimed were of human foetuses may actually be sugar glider joeys, but maintains that the error is an insignificant detail in the broader abortion debate.
Background of the controversy
In a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Howe acknowledged that she may have been scammed by an email containing a picture of sugar glider joeys, which she had referred to as twin girls named Ruth and Emma. The email purportedly came from a woman describing a medical abortion experience.
Howe had previously used the image in a social media video on 21 May and on a poster promoting a rally in Sydney. She claimed that doctors had abandoned the woman, leaving her to give birth alone on a bathroom floor.
Expert analysis reveals truth
Guardian Australia revealed on Wednesday that the image was almost certainly a screenshot from a TikTok video of sugar glider joeys. Digital analysis indicated an extremely low probability that it depicted human embryos.
Howe responded on Instagram, saying critics “hone in on these little like insignificant details when it doesn’t actually matter because we know that little things like Ruth and Emma are being killed every day in this country.” She added, “Even if … the picture of Ruth and Emma is sugar gliders, like, does it really even fucking matter?”
Further developments
Later on Wednesday, Howe wrote on Facebook that “it now appears the photo I was sent really was of sugar gliders.” However, in a video she reiterated that whether Ruth and Emma were sugar gliders “doesn’t actually matter” because “there are thousands of Ruth and Emmas … We rally for them.”
A person claiming to be behind the hoax contacted Guardian Australia, stating they had emailed Howe under the pseudonym Lynn with a screenshot of sugar gliders to test her fact-checking. The emails did not mention abandonment or giving birth on a bathroom floor.
Howe's activism and past controversies
Howe has worked with state and federal MPs on legislation to restrict abortion access. She believes all abortion should be banned and that “everybody involved” should face criminal penalties.
Earlier this year, authorities sought to remove an image of a foetus that Howe and other activists circulated, calling it “baby Samuel.” The photo, allegedly taken at a Townsville hospital, remains on her social media, and an inquiry did not identify the source.
Despite acknowledging the sugar glider image, Howe continued to use it on Thursday morning, referring to “twin babies Emma and Ruth.” She wrote on social media, “The brave woman ‘Lynn’ who shared this with me, was too upset for a public interview,” and called it “gross” to suggest Lynn was lying.
The alleged hoaxer told Guardian Australia they had hoped to wait until Howe printed corflutes and posters for the rally. However, many commenters had already questioned the image's authenticity, noting the lack of blood or tissue and the impossibility of determining gender from a nine-week foetus.
Howe did not respond to a request for comment.
