Abortion and Recession "Linked" Together, Despite No Evidence [Serge]

What do they really teach in journalism school? This article from Reuters absolutely amazes me. Here is the big headline:

CORRECTED: Recession linked to more abortions, vasectomies

Get that? The current economic conditions have been linked to an increased number of abortions. The article begins with a story of a nurse who is employed deciding to have an abortion. Then, in a strange twist, the article reports:

The recession may be a factor influencing more Americans to opt out of parenthood with abortions and vasectomies, although there is no data available yet to suggest a trend.

What? There is no data available YET. So we have no data that would actually link the number of abortions to the economy, and no available data suggests a trend, but some belief that the data will be coming. Hopefully soon. Sheez. This is truly a faith-based initiative.

Of course a professional journalist is not going to let something like no data to support her headline divert her story, so she does offer some "evidence". Here it goes:

Even so, there is some anecdotal evidence that would-be parents are factoring the rough economic times into the most personal of reproductive choices, some experts said.

Yea! Anecdotal evidence from "experts"! This should be good.

In 2005, the last year for which data is available, the U.S. abortion rate fell to the lowest level since 1974, according to the Guttmacher Institute in New York, a nonprofit group focusing on reproductive issues.

Wait, this is not anecdotal evidence, but real evidence. And it seems to support the exact opposite of what her theory is. Maybe we should just keep reading.

But at the National Abortion Federation, a hotline for women seeking abortion information has been "ringing off the hook," according to the group's president, Vicki Saporta.

"We are currently getting more calls from women who report that they or their partner have recently lost their job, and we are also hearing from more women facing eviction," she said.

Who needs real evidence when Vicki has phones ringing off the hook! How can one even imagine stronger evidence! And we have have reports of as many as three women who have stated that the current economy have influenced their decision to have an abortion.

That's all we need. Go ahead and run the headline saying that they are linked.

Pathetic.