In this podcast, Scott, Rich, and new contributor Bob Perry discuss the recent news that abortions for the purposes of sex-selection are legal in Sweden. Rich also addresses an article in the Journal Contraception that claims that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban has had a significant effect on 2nd trimester abortions performed in Massachusetts. You can subscribe via Itunes or download the podcast directly here.
I absolutely LOVE the segment where you review a paper. This is something that the pro-life movement needs more of; someone who is competent and a trained researcher to sift through the current research and dissect pertinent articles. There is so much sloppiness going around on both sides where people post this and that research without understanding it or even knowing what it really says. Thank you.
I thought the ban on partial birth abortion would have no effect on the number of abortions. When someone wants to kill her baby, she doesn't want to know how the dirty deed gets done.
Even if the ban wouldn't save a single baby, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have supported the ban. The discussion about how babies are murdered through any abortion technique is always worth having.
That said, Serge, i'm unconvinced by your podcast. You don't mention the actual numbers of babies murdered in Massachusettes before and after the ban. And if there is a difference in the murder-by-abortion rate, is it attributable to other factors?
You are correct that I don't have data showing an absolute decrease in 2nd trimester abortions in Massachusetts. The data is unavailable because not all abortions need to be reported.
The report simply relayed that pro-abortion choice advocates believe that the PBA ban has caused changes in Massachusetts that have made 2nd trimester abortions more difficult to obtain because the law has made at least one institution change its practice and another stop doing them entirely. That's what they are claiming - I'm simply reporting their claim.
It is possible that every abortion that would be done at the one institution is being done elsewhere and that no reduction in second trimester abortions. I don't know the answer to that. I do know that the abortion providers themselves believe that the PBA has had an effect on a woman's ability to receive a second trimester abortion in Massachusetts.
I thought the PBA segment was interesting, but there seemed to be a conflation of "second-trimester abortion" with "partial-birth abortion". It wasn't clear to me whether second-trimester abortions were just being done using other methods.
PBAs are a subset of second trimester abortions. It is true that many of the 2nd trimester PBAs that were performed are now still being done using another method.
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Serge,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE the segment where you review a paper. This is something that the pro-life movement needs more of; someone who is competent and a trained researcher to sift through the current research and dissect pertinent articles. There is so much sloppiness going around on both sides where people post this and that research without understanding it or even knowing what it really says. Thank you.
I thought the ban on partial birth abortion would have no effect on the number of abortions. When someone wants to kill her baby, she doesn't want to know how the dirty deed gets done.
ReplyDeleteEven if the ban wouldn't save a single baby, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have supported the ban. The discussion about how babies are murdered through any abortion technique is always worth having.
That said, Serge, i'm unconvinced by your podcast. You don't mention the actual numbers of babies murdered in Massachusettes before and after the ban. And if there is a difference in the murder-by-abortion rate, is it attributable to other factors?
Drew,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that I don't have data showing an absolute decrease in 2nd trimester abortions in Massachusetts. The data is unavailable because not all abortions need to be reported.
The report simply relayed that pro-abortion choice advocates believe that the PBA ban has caused changes in Massachusetts that have made 2nd trimester abortions more difficult to obtain because the law has made at least one institution change its practice and another stop doing them entirely. That's what they are claiming - I'm simply reporting their claim.
It is possible that every abortion that would be done at the one institution is being done elsewhere and that no reduction in second trimester abortions. I don't know the answer to that. I do know that the abortion providers themselves believe that the PBA has had an effect on a woman's ability to receive a second trimester abortion in Massachusetts.
I thought the PBA segment was interesting, but there seemed to be a conflation of "second-trimester abortion" with "partial-birth abortion". It wasn't clear to me whether second-trimester abortions were just being done using other methods.
ReplyDeleteJen,
ReplyDeletePBAs are a subset of second trimester abortions. It is true that many of the 2nd trimester PBAs that were performed are now still being done using another method.
Thanks for the response!
ReplyDelete