tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post3371299252825935049..comments2024-02-10T00:21:03.699-08:00Comments on Embracing the Risk: Mandatory Abortion for those 25 and YoungerMarkChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14783588922999884233noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post-4712145383797599572008-09-29T12:39:00.000-07:002008-09-29T12:39:00.000-07:00wow...that's a little scary...chiling evenwow...that's a little scary...chiling evenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post-777165091377096532008-09-18T17:04:00.000-07:002008-09-18T17:04:00.000-07:00Along these lines, I was recently having a discuss...Along these lines, I was recently having a discussion with a politically-liberal friend, mainly on the topic of abortion. He recommended an article in Slate magazine called <A HREF="http://www.slate.com/id/2199495/" REL="nofollow">Whatever Happened to Family Values?</A> by Jacob Weisberg.<BR/><BR/>The article doesn't advocate forced abortions... quite. But, his thesis is best encapsulated in this quote:<BR/><BR/><I>"like it or not, the availability of legal abortion supports the kind of family structure that conservatives once felt so strongly about: two parents raising children in a stable relationship, without government assistance."</I><BR/><BR/>How is this? He pulls out the statistics. Young women who get pregnant and keep their baby have a low likelihood of success in life. Either they raise their children as young single moms, a recipe for disaster, or they have shotgun weddings, which have a high likelihood of ending in divorce within ten years.<BR/><BR/>It probably uses lots of the same statistics that Rall uses in his article.<BR/><BR/>Sounds convincing on the surface... but it leaves out the critical comparison. What about young women who DO have abortions? Do they do better in life? The Slate article doesn't even raise the question. Rall at least acknowledges it in passing... but in contrast to all his statistics and studies, his observation about young women who have early abortions is that "[a]nyone who went to high school knew a student couple where..." Right. Very convincing.<BR/><BR/>Is it possible that nobody has done studies of the overall well-being of women who had early abortions? Is it possible that, given all the similar studies that have been done, that one hasn't been done? It would surprise me.<BR/><BR/>But, until those numbers are produced, I'm going to keep clearly in my mind the very strong possibility that these statistics are showing a correlation, rather than a causation. Some other root cause (say, lack of family support, family poverty, any number of possible things) results in high numbers of young pregnancies... and also results in low levels of success later in life. Whether or not those young pregnancies are terminated with abortions, I suspect, has little to do with how successful those women become.<BR/><BR/>MarkMarkChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14783588922999884233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post-39562018655469067822008-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:002008-09-18T10:30:00.000-07:00"Just out of curiosity, MB, does your Aunt lean po..."Just out of curiosity, MB, does your Aunt lean politically left or right?"<BR/><BR/>Very strongly left. There isn't a right wing bone in her body.<BR/><BR/>MBDouglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16064119946449926285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post-56962318440972042042008-09-17T10:58:00.000-07:002008-09-17T10:58:00.000-07:00Wow, that is so ridiculous that it's hard to belie...Wow, that is so ridiculous that it's hard to believe Rall is serious. After looking up some of his history, though, it's easier.<BR/><BR/>On the surface, he invokes some compelling statistics, but his logic is distorted and his apparent goal is incredibly disturbing.<BR/><BR/>Rall's overarching premise seems to be that it is our government's role to minimize our unhappiness (as defined by him or perhaps some statistics), through force if necessary.<BR/><BR/>The question of the proper role of government and reconciling different views of that role keeps recurring for me recently. Totalitarian attitudes like Rall's scare me in the opposite direction, toward libertarianism.<BR/><BR/>Just out of curiosity, MB, does your Aunt lean politically left or right?<BR/><BR/>KevinKevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00244577723092436958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27237113.post-23065376214054683212008-09-16T23:20:00.000-07:002008-09-16T23:20:00.000-07:00Wow, that's scary.Wow, that's scary.purple_kangaroohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02543172194041505144noreply@blogger.com