Proof That Abortion Increases When Republicans Are In the White House?
Maybe there's something to the notion put forward by left-liberals that when Republicans are in the White House there is an increase in the rate and/or number of abortions.
After all, George W. Bush is in the White House and here's this news story reporting that "the number of abortions among girls aged under 16 rose by 10% ... in 2007". That would be pretty damning evidence backing up the left-liberal case-in-chief against Republicans and their policies.
... Except for the fact that the news source is the BBC and the increase in abortion is among young teens in England and Wales.
... Where there's been a Labour government for the last decade.
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
"Poverty and Abortion: A New Analysis"
Number of Abortions Lowest in Decades
National Review Online: Mainstream Media Continues to Distort on Abortion
Pro-Life Quote of the Day
Labels: Culture of Death, England, Pro-Life, United Kingdom
posted by Pro Ecclesia 3:11 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Don't forget the rate vs. ratio thing that Darwin discussed here:
At first it might appear so. During the Clinton administration the abortion rate declined an average of 0.55% per year, versus 0.38% per year from 2001 to 2005 (more current data is not yet available from Guttmacher.) However, something interesting appears when we look at the abortion ratio, which has declined more rapidly under Bush than under Clinton. So the apparent Clinton advantage is a result of an overall decrease in pregnancy under Clinton. If we control that by looking at the ratio (the percentage of pregnant women who abort) we find that it has actually declined faster under Bush than under Clinton.
There are many variables to consider, so I'm hesitant to blame or praise a president for a change in the numbers of abortions. This is not to say that a link cannot be shown, but that it requires more work and analysis than a quick observation of the numbers.
That may be true, but when the numbers are played to "prove" one side (a dangerous word for those in the social sciences), it is sometimes helpful to see the numbers cast in the other direction to be able to demonstrate that the numbers do NOT necessarily prove what we are told (more often than not) that they prove.
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