In a new study that could recast the seemingly endless debates over abortion and Roe v. Wade, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good yesterday released a new study that, according to the news release, is the first study of its kind to look at the "long- and short-term effects of public policy on the abortion rate over a twenty-year period.
"The findings," it says, "reveal that social and economic supports for women and families dramatically reduce the number of abortions. As Democrats gather in Denver for their national convention, and as Republicans prepare to gather next week, the study offers compelling findings that pro-life and pro-choice leaders from both political parties can unite behind to reduce abortions."
Indeed, such findings would (I would think) provide ammunition for those looking to move beyond the stalemate--and sterile debate--over Roe v. Wade--but it would be a major challenge to the GOP to match their pro-life rhetoric with deeds.
Catholics in Alliance commissioned the study, which was conducted by Joseph Wright, a political science professor at Penn State University and a visiting fellow at the University of Notre Dame, and Michael Bailey, a professor of American government at Georgetown University. You can read it here (in a 19-page PDF file). Tom Roberts at NCR also has coverage.
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Allison: You can end at least 99% of all legal abortions by outlawing it entirely except rape, incest, or for the life of the mother. Even Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute admits that fewer than 1 percent of the abortions performed in the U.S. are for those reasons. That would be an abortion reduction policy that doesn't attempt to blow smoke about the intentions of its authors.
Here is an article from the NY Times that making abortion illegal does nothing to stop it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/world/12abortion.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Abortions go back to ancient Greeks. Making abortion illegal will not end abortions. It would mean back-ally abortions for the poor, while people with money would receive safe illegal abortions from doctors
JOHN McCAIN PRO LIFE WHAT A JOKE
http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin465.htm
Dr. Chuck Baldwin 8/22/08
Once again, "pro-life" Christians are doing back flips to try and justify their compromise of the life issue by trying to convince everyone (including themselves) that McCain is truly pro-life. However, these same people know in their hearts that McCain shares no fidelity to the life issue in any significant or meaningful way. Like many in the Republican Party, McCain's commitment to life is about as deep as a mud puddle
the "pro-life" GOP controlled the entire federal government from 2000 to 2006 and nothing was done to overturn Roe v. Wade or end legal abortion-on-demand? When Bush took the oath of office in January of 2001, over one million innocent unborn babies were being murdered in the wombs of their mothers every year via legal abortions in this country. When Bush leaves office in January of 2009, over one million innocent unborn babies would still be murdered in the wombs of their mothers every year via legal abortions in this country
Had McCain & his fellow Republicans truly wanted to end legal abortion, they could have passed Congressman Ron Paul's Sanctity of Life Act.
How can McCain, & his fellow Republicans in D.C., look pro-life Christians and conservatives in the eye in 2008 and expect that we take them seriously when they say that they are "pro-life"?
The reason they did not do it is because they did not want to do it. They merely want to use "pro-life" rhetoric as a campaign tool to dupe gullible Christian voters every election year. The disgusting thing about it is--it works
Repairing the Damage, Before Roe
Waldo L. Fielding, M.D.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/views/03essa.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=%22roe%20v.%20wade%22&st=cse&oref=slogin
"Almost any implement you can imagine had been and was used to start an abortion —darning needles, crochet hooks, cut-glass salt shakers, soda bottles, sometimes intact, sometimes with the top broken off. "
Yet as soon as we examined her, we realized that what we thought was the cord was in fact part of her intestine, which had been hooked and torn by whatever implement had been used in the abortion. It took six hours of surgery to remove the infected uterus and ovaries and repair the part of the bowel that was still functional."
As California's governor, Ronald Reagan signed permissive abortion legislation that leads to many abortions. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to seek an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, but never fought hard for one.
George W. Bush flip-flopped on abortion when he ran for President. With a Republican controlled Congress until 2006, Bush did not take any actions to outlawed abortion.
Interesting article. While I think that it would be nice if abortion was illegal, I think that sometimes we miss the point. I have found that most abortions occur because women are scared, ashamed, abandoned or fear they will be abandoned by the man or their parents. Abortion needs to be prevented on several fronts. First, Bible teachings concerning premarital sex need to be taught and modeled. Next, while out of wedlock pregnantcy is not right, women need to be assured that they will be supported by the christian community when they have their child. Finally, government needs to put into place policies that will help Women to get their lives back together after they have their child. Even though abortion may be legal, if we can prevent it from happening through compassionate means then we will have been successful. That's the point. Isn't it?
Making abortion illegal doesn't stop it from happening - in impoverished countries! In America, banning abortion could significantly reduce its incidence.
The number of women who die from "back-alley abortions" is less than the number of people who die every year from high-speed police chases, at least in the USA.
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