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October 19, 2004
Abortion rises under Bush
Before I share my statistics, let me share my own point of view. I’m a proponent of life, in all cases. I’ve grappled with the issue of abortion and morality, struggled with my own, normally liberal point of view, and yet I still come to the conclusion that abortion constitutes the ending of a life, no matter what the case. Some people can whitewash it however they see fit, claiming that an embryo or a fetus really doesn’t feel anything until so-and-so amount of time, but from everything I’ve read, seen, heard and understood, we still don’t know the answer. Therefore I have to go under the assumption that life begins when life begins, which is at conception.
That being said, however, abortion is ultimately impossible to end. So many people believe so many different things that nobody can truly stop every pregnant teenager or unwed woman from choosing to end her pregnancy when she sees fit. Make abortion illegal and you have a world of illegal abortions, with the mess that goes along with it. In order to combat abortion, you have to work on the reasons behind it. Spend money on the clinics so that they can offer their clients counseling and alternative solutions and you have reduced the figure somewhat.
But the certain way to combat the abortion numbers is to get rid of the reasons women get abortions.
Nationally, the abortion rate per 1,000 women age 15 to 44 decreased from 27 in 1990 to 21 in 2000. During Clinton’s administration, the unemployment rate also dropped. Employed men are far more likely to marry the mother’s of their unborn children. Wed mothers are substantially less likely to end their pregnancies.
Unfortunately, the CDC waits several years to release national figures, so the only figures we have are by state, but the information is quite interesting.
In Michigan, the abortion rate dropped from 16.3 in 1990 to 12.4 in 2000, but increased to 13.8 by 2003. In Kentucky, the total number of abortions went from 3764 in 1990 to 3502 in 2000, but substantially increased to 3621 in 2003. There is a definite correlation between unemployment rates and abortion rates.
While there is no guarantee that these figures will translate throughout the nation, it does underscore a disturbing trend, and one that should be presented to the most ardent pro-lifers. It also serves to remind us, as a community, that we can only reduce women’s necessity to end pregnancy by reducing the underlying reasons.
Reduce unemployment, reduce poverty, and improve sex education.
And we all know that these are three things that the current administration has no interest in doing.
Posted by Bastique at October 19, 2004 1:36 PM
Comments
god the debate is so american in a way, reactionary, crying over spilt milk when the answer is giving women more power, more education, more choices, less stigma.
males need a pill too. abortion should remain a woman's right, but one invoked on a very weird, rare occassion and NOT as a means of birth control
Posted by: Anonymous at October 1, 2005 9:12 PM