Obama a Boon for Antiabortion Groups. For Now.

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Payday Loans of AL 12:45AM May 01, 2009

Julie,
Thanks for pointing to the need for better reporting of abortion data, (and birth control data, and sexual activity data, and intention to have children data). How can the country expect its policy makers to come up with good strategies for saving lives if they have to rely on guesswork rather than hard facts?
That said, the stats I posted aren't really as bad as you fear. They're from the Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html and the Census doesn't rely on CDC stats -- they use Guttmacher's stats. Naturally, I'd rather have the government come up with its own numbers but there doesn't seem to be enough of a clamor on the part of the public to justify the expenditure. People love to talk about abortion, but they don't seem hungry to know what they need to know in order to discuss the matter intelligently.
As to your other point, "Where were the protests when Bush and the Republican controlled Congress did not make abortion illegal?" I'm convinced that no one has the power to make abortion illegal in the US -- but the Republicans are happy to receive votes from people who WANT to make abortion illegal. Pro-Lifers are being taken for a ride and they don't seem to notice.
The only people who have any credibility with me are the ones who are looking to root out the cause of abortion rather than those who seem satisfied to simply try and make it against the law.
Paul Bradford, Pro-Life Catholics for Choice

Paul Bradford of MA 12:18PM April 14, 2009

Where were the protests when Bush and the Republican controlled Congress did not make abortion illegal?
"Are states required to report their abortion statistics to CDC?"
No, states and areas voluntarily report data to CDC for report preparation. CDC's Division of Reproductive Health prepares surveillance reports as data becomes available. There is no national requirement for data submission or reporting."
For more detail: cds.gov

Julie of 6:42AM April 14, 2009

* During Reagan's eight year administration the abortion rate declined by 7%
* During G.H.W. Bush's four year administration the abortion rate declined by 5%
* During Clinton's eight year administration the abortion rate declined by 17%
* During G.W. Bush's first four year term (stats aren't yet available for the second) the abortion rate declined by 9%
You say, "If Obama succeeds in implementing a successful abortion-reduction plan, the antiabortion groups that are now flourishing will have a lot of explaining to do." I say, "If Obama DOESN'T succeed in bringing the abortion rate down after his four predecessors were able to do so, he'll have a lot of explaining to do." For almost thirty years the trend among women has been to choose life over abortion. Let's hope that that trend continues under Obama. If he wants success he should start by asking the question, "What did Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush do right?"
You referred to the last president's administration as one "that did more than any other to further the antiabortion cause." The antiabortion cause has been furthered by the women who care about their unborn children. Presidents come and go, but care for families is on the upswing. It's also the fact that, as a society, we are more supportive of single moms than we were a generation ago. I would suggest that Obama's challenge is not so much to induce women to keep their babies as it is to ENABLE them to do so. Women in difficult situations deserve to be supported by the government, by their families, by the fathers of their children and by private human service organizations.
Let's think in terms of 'partnerships' with mothers. We've been making progress for years -- let's continue to do so.
Paul Bradford, Pro-Life Catholics for Choice

Paul Bradford of MA 7:11PM April 13, 2009