RHRealityCheck.org Re: Abortion Laws
worried american thought you would like to see this page from the RHRealityCheck.org web site.
They'll say, "Good! Serves her right! She shouldn't have killed her baby." That is the usual reaction of pro-lifers to any tragedy resulting from abortion. Their so-called compassion is reserved for an undeveloped embryo, not an existing person.
by Andrea Lynch
The South African Health Department released some encouraging, but not necessarily surprising, statistics on Thursday: since 1997, when abortion was legalized under broad circumstances in South Africa, deaths from unsafe abortion have gone down an encouraging 91.1 percent. It's a fitting reminder that making abortion illegal doesn't make it stop, it just makes it unsafe. The South African Health Department should send the study to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who have all signed or pledged to sign bills that would all but outlaw safe and legal abortion in their states.
Recent blog posts
- Overcoming Religiophobia
- C-FAM Continues to Miss an Oppotunity to Fight Trafficking
- Catholic Bishops Do the Right Thing by Not Denying Communion to Politicians
- Louisiana, Mississippi and South Dakota Should Follow South Africa
- Encouraging Progressive Faith Leaders on Issues of Sexuality and Reproductive Health
3 Comments:
At Monday, June 19, 2006 3:00:00 PM , Endorendil said...
Damn it, I'm pro choice, but I just hate being fed crap like this:
"The South African Health Department released some encouraging, but not necessarily surprising, statistics on Thursday: since 1997, when abortion was legalized under broad circumstances in South Africa, deaths from unsafe abortion have gone down an encouraging 91.1 percent. It’s a fitting reminder that making abortion illegal doesn’t make it stop, it just makes it unsafe."
THAT IS NOT CORRECT, IT IS NOT LOGICAL, IT IS NOT REASONABLE!
If you legalize abortion, and make it easily available, deaths from unsafe abortion should go down 100%. The fact that it doesn't go down 100% reflects imperfect availability. And it is entirely irrelevant to the conclusion being drawn. Relevant numbers would be whether the total number of deaths went down (I'm practically sure that they do) and how the total number of abortions changed (I suspect they go up). The conclusion drawn is completely unwarranted, from the evidence presented.
If the secular, progressive, reasonable, rational side of the argument has that little concern for logic, why expect the other side to be any different. Please, people, set an example!!!
At Monday, June 19, 2006 11:18:00 PM , Unknown said...
"...deaths from unsafe abortions have gone down an encouraging 91.1%..."
I would interpret this as meaning there are still some unsafe abortions taking place, but because safe, legal abortions are available, the death rate from unsafe ones have diminished.
Even in this day of legal abortions, I have known women who have tried alternate methods; for various personal reasons they did not want to go to an abortion clinic. One woman I know said she did not want a legal health record on file revealing she had had an abortion. She had a friend who was embroiled in a legal case wherein her medical records were subpoenaed; her physician did not perform the abortion but attended her for her post-abortion care, so had records of the procedure. The exposure of her medical records caused her considerable trouble with huband and family.
I advised the woman to use an alias and if the clinic did not provide post operatve care, to see a physician other than her family doctor, using the alias.
Some women have reasons to maintain strict privacy and therefore seek alternate methods to terminate a pregnancy. Sometimes these alternate methods end in tragedy.
At Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:53:00 PM , Endorendil said...
I agree. That's what I assume to, but it means that the numbers quoted are irrelevant. I might add that in some countries, such as Belgium, illegal abortions were very safe, since they were usually done by doctors, in (unmarked) medical facilities. And of course, making abortions legal does not make them safe - the USSR proved that.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home