Comments on: Why We Fight (Alito) http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/ Exposing the ugly truths about the Bush Administration. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:51:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1.3 by: The Mahablog » Some Things Can’t Be Legislated Away http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-321933 Sat, 13 Oct 2007 12:44:56 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-321933 [...] This isn’t actually news — I’ve been ranting about it for years (such as here and here) — but it’s in the news. Elisabeth Rosenthal writes in yesterday’s New York Times – A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it. [...] […] This isn’t actually news — I’ve been ranting about it for years (such as here and here) — but it’s in the news. Elisabeth Rosenthal writes in yesterday’s New York Times – A comprehensive global study of abortion has concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where it is legal and those where it is not, suggesting that outlawing the procedure does little to deter women seeking it. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Pills and Politics http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-274890 Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:34:20 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-274890 [...] The irony of the so-called (imagine my voice dripping with contempt) “right to life” position is that passing laws that ban abortions doesn’t stop abortions. This can be proved with solid empirical evidence; many nations that outlaw abortions have higher rates of abortion than nations with more liberal abortion laws. The one factor that, reliably, does lower abortion rates is access to and use of contraceptives. It is well documented that increasing the use of contraceptives correlates to lowering the rate of abortions within a population. You can’t say the same about passing laws prohibiting abortion. [...] […] The irony of the so-called (imagine my voice dripping with contempt) “right to life” position is that passing laws that ban abortions doesn’t stop abortions. This can be proved with solid empirical evidence; many nations that outlaw abortions have higher rates of abortion than nations with more liberal abortion laws. The one factor that, reliably, does lower abortion rates is access to and use of contraceptives. It is well documented that increasing the use of contraceptives correlates to lowering the rate of abortions within a population. You can’t say the same about passing laws prohibiting abortion. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Blogging for Legality http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-74037 Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:54:51 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-74037 [...] [*] Of course it’s highly inaccurate and inflammatory to frame the debate in terms of being pro-abortion and anti-abortion. The phrase “pro-choice” isn’t entirely accurate either, however, because where abortion is illegal women still choose to have them; they just have to go underground to have them. And underground abortions are far more dangerous to women. The real difference is whether one believes abortion, including abortion for medical cause, should be criminalized in all or most circumstances; or whether one believes elective abortion should remain legal for at least part of the pregnancy and abortion for medical cause through all of it. For that reason I’d rather talk about criminalization versus legality rather than pro- or anti-choice. But we should not forget that many people fall somewhere in between the two ends of the opinion scale. [...] […] [*] Of course it’s highly inaccurate and inflammatory to frame the debate in terms of being pro-abortion and anti-abortion. The phrase “pro-choice” isn’t entirely accurate either, however, because where abortion is illegal women still choose to have them; they just have to go underground to have them. And underground abortions are far more dangerous to women. The real difference is whether one believes abortion, including abortion for medical cause, should be criminalized in all or most circumstances; or whether one believes elective abortion should remain legal for at least part of the pregnancy and abortion for medical cause through all of it. For that reason I’d rather talk about criminalization versus legality rather than pro- or anti-choice. But we should not forget that many people fall somewhere in between the two ends of the opinion scale. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Three Lessons http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-5375 Tue, 21 Mar 2006 13:06:42 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-5375 [...] Banning abortion doesn’t stop abortion. Banning abortion doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in the rate of abortion. Latin America is proof. As I wrote here, worldwide there is no correlation whatsoever between abortion rate and abortion law. Some nations that ban abortion have very high rates of abortion; some nations with legal abortion have very low rates of abortion. According to this New York Times article, Regional health officials increasingly argue that tough laws have done little to slow abortions. The rate of abortions in Latin America is 37 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the highest outside Eastern Europe, according to United Nations figures. Four million abortions, most of them illegal, take place in Latin America annually, the United Nations reports, and up to 5,000 women are believed to die each year from complications from abortions. [...] […] Banning abortion doesn’t stop abortion. Banning abortion doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in the rate of abortion. Latin America is proof. As I wrote here, worldwide there is no correlation whatsoever between abortion rate and abortion law. Some nations that ban abortion have very high rates of abortion; some nations with legal abortion have very low rates of abortion. According to this New York Times article, Regional health officials increasingly argue that tough laws have done little to slow abortions. The rate of abortions in Latin America is 37 per 1,000 women of childbearing age, the highest outside Eastern Europe, according to United Nations figures. Four million abortions, most of them illegal, take place in Latin America annually, the United Nations reports, and up to 5,000 women are believed to die each year from complications from abortions. […]

]]> by: Stafan Voelkl http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-5254 Sat, 18 Mar 2006 05:40:11 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-5254 <strong>anxiety buspar </strong> The Mahablog &#187; W... anxiety buspar

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]]> by: The Mahablog » Under the Rug http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4635 Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:48:50 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4635 [...] In many nations where abortion is illegal, women really do face penalty of law for getting abortions. In this post from December I linked to Juan Forero, &#8220;Push to Loosen Abortion Laws in Latin America ,&#8221; The New York Times, December 3, 2005: PAMPLONA, Colombia - In this tradition-bound Roman Catholic town one day in April, two young women did what many here consider unthinkable: pregnant and scared, they took a cheap ulcer medication known to induce abortions. When the drug left them bleeding, they were treated at a local emergency room &#8212; then promptly arrested. [...] […] In many nations where abortion is illegal, women really do face penalty of law for getting abortions. In this post from December I linked to Juan Forero, “Push to Loosen Abortion Laws in Latin America ,” The New York Times, December 3, 2005: PAMPLONA, Colombia - In this tradition-bound Roman Catholic town one day in April, two young women did what many here consider unthinkable: pregnant and scared, they took a cheap ulcer medication known to induce abortions. When the drug left them bleeding, they were treated at a local emergency room — then promptly arrested. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Abortions and Autonomy http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4618 Tue, 07 Mar 2006 21:15:37 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4618 [...] And look who has a way lower abortion rate than the U.S. &#8212; The Netherlands. Possibly the most liberal nation that ever was. I&#8217;m not sure if The Netherlands is still #1 as of most recent data (the chart dates from 1999), but on the whole the nations of western Europe have lower abortion rates than anywhere else on the planet. And the nations of eastern Europe have some of the highest rates, even though there isn&#8217;t a real big difference in abortion law between eastern and western Europe. As I argued here, there is no correlation whatsoever between abortion rate and abortion law. [...] […] And look who has a way lower abortion rate than the U.S. — The Netherlands. Possibly the most liberal nation that ever was. I’m not sure if The Netherlands is still #1 as of most recent data (the chart dates from 1999), but on the whole the nations of western Europe have lower abortion rates than anywhere else on the planet. And the nations of eastern Europe have some of the highest rates, even though there isn’t a real big difference in abortion law between eastern and western Europe. As I argued here, there is no correlation whatsoever between abortion rate and abortion law. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Rights, Facts, Comments and Kibble http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4159 Mon, 27 Feb 2006 22:54:36 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-4159 [...] Now, also in my response to the post above, I provided a link to this post, which refers to the Alan Guttmacher report linked above, which says, Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. One analysis, extrapolating from data from North Carolina, concluded that an estimated 829,000 illegal or self-induced abortions occurred in 1967. [...] […] Now, also in my response to the post above, I provided a link to this post, which refers to the Alan Guttmacher report linked above, which says, Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year. One analysis, extrapolating from data from North Carolina, concluded that an estimated 829,000 illegal or self-induced abortions occurred in 1967. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » Two Justices Don’t Make a Society http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-2294 Tue, 24 Jan 2006 13:53:41 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-2294 [...] A New York Times article that came out after Carter&#8217;s book appeared further confirms what he is saying: &#8220;Four million abortions, most of them illegal, take place in Latin America annually, the United Nations reports, and up to 5,000 women are believed to die each year from complications from abortions.&#8220;[*] This takes place in countries where churches and schools teach abstinence as the only form of contraception—demonstrating conclusively the ineffectiveness of that kind of program. [...] […] A New York Times article that came out after Carter’s book appeared further confirms what he is saying: “Four million abortions, most of them illegal, take place in Latin America annually, the United Nations reports, and up to 5,000 women are believed to die each year from complications from abortions.“[*] This takes place in countries where churches and schools teach abstinence as the only form of contraception—demonstrating conclusively the ineffectiveness of that kind of program. […]

]]> by: The Mahablog » http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-1872 Fri, 06 Jan 2006 14:01:46 +0000 http://www.mahablog.com/2005/12/03/why-we-fight-alito/#comment-1872 [...] In all of our endless fighting over abortion law, one never hears the simple fact that making abortion illegal doesn&#8217;t stop it. Indeed, as I argued in this post, we don&#8217;t know for sure if the rate of abortions in the U.S. is higher now than it was pre-Roe. Estimates of the number of abortions performed in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s put the number as high as 1.2 million per year. That&#8217;s the same approximate number of abortions performed annually in the United States right now, and in a larger population. [...] […] In all of our endless fighting over abortion law, one never hears the simple fact that making abortion illegal doesn’t stop it. Indeed, as I argued in this post, we don’t know for sure if the rate of abortions in the U.S. is higher now than it was pre-Roe. Estimates of the number of abortions performed in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s put the number as high as 1.2 million per year. That’s the same approximate number of abortions performed annually in the United States right now, and in a larger population. […]

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