{"id":241887,"date":"2021-03-19T06:21:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T11:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=241887"},"modified":"2021-03-18T16:31:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T21:31:24","slug":"washington-post-bizarrely-disconnected-facts-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-post-bizarrely-disconnected-facts-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post columnist is bizarrely disconnected from the facts on abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(National Review<\/a>)\u00a0It is no secret that the efforts of pro-lifers receive precious little recognition from mainstream media outlets. Indeed, journalists and commentators devote hardly any attention to the 53-percent drop in the U.S. abortion rate that has taken place since 1980.<\/p>\n

On those occasions when there is reporting on abortion-rate reductions, journalists typically parrot talking points from abortion-rights groups, claiming that the abortion rate has dropped only due to an increase in contraception use. Pro-life legislative, educational, and service efforts are simply ignored.<\/p>\n

However, on Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Post<\/em> published a column<\/a> by David Von Drehle about the long-term U.S abortion rate decline that is unbelievable, even by the standards of mainstream media.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Von Drehle refuses to give pro-lifers any credit for the long-term decline in the U.S. abortion rate. Instead, he makes the ridiculous, bizarre, and illogical argument that the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade<\/em> is responsible for the abortion-rate declines that have occurred since 1980.<\/p>\n

Again, he actually attempts to claim that today\u2019s historically low abortion rates are a result of the decision in Roe<\/em>, which legalized abortion, and he claims that \u201cthose who seek a return to the days before Roe v. Wade<\/em>\u00a0would take us to a time when abortion was more common than it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It should come as no surprise that Von Drehle\u2019s column is full of inaccuracies. He acknowledges that the U.S. abortion rate increased in the years immediately after Roe<\/em>, but he claims that this is because \u201cdesperate women came out of the shadows.\u201d In reality, the abortion rate increased because, unsurprisingly, many more women sought and obtained abortions after it was made legal.<\/p>\n

In the years immediately prior to Roe<\/em>, abortion actually was legal in several states, including New York and California. However, Roe<\/em> effectively legalized abortion in all 50 states throughout all nine months of pregnancy, so it should come as no surprise that the incidence of abortion increased dramatically.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0No, Democratic presidents do not cause large declines in the abortion rate<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A serious analysis of available data suggests that an important reason for the long-term reduction in the abortion rate is because a higher percentage of women are carrying unintended pregnancies to term. Von Drehle cavalierly dismisses this possibility. In his piece, he explicitly asserts that \u201cthe decline in the abortion rate has not been a function of more (unwanted) pregnancies being carried to term.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the data simply do not support this assertion. Indeed, statistics from Guttmacher \u2014 until recently Planned Parenthood\u2019s research arm \u2014 show that approximately 54 percent of unintended pregnancies were aborted in 1981. That fell to 42 percent by 2011, the most recent year for which we have data.<\/p>\n

If more unintended pregnancies are being carried to term, that means that pro-lifers are succeeding at changing hearts and minds, offering resources to more women through pregnancy-help centers, and passing protective pro-life laws. For instance, there is a strong consensus among both pro-life and pro-choice researchers that the Hyde amendment alone, upheld by the Supreme Court in 1980, saves tens of thousands<\/a> of unborn lives every year.<\/p>\n

Pro-lifers are accustomed to commentators claiming that pro-life laws are an ineffective strategy for lowering abortion rates. But this poorly argued column in the\u00a0Post<\/em>, riddled with inaccuracies and claiming that legalized abortion contributed to a long-term decline in the abortion rate, demonstrates that the media can always sink to new depths.<\/p>\n

However, pro-lifers should not be discouraged. A substantial body of academic research suggests that the incidence of abortion is sensitive to its legal status and that incremental pro-life laws help to reduce the abortion rate. As always, pro-lifers would do well to stay the course.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was published at National Review<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(National Review)\u00a0It is no secret that the efforts of pro-lifers receive precious little recognition from mainstream media outlets. Indeed, journalists and commentators devote hardly any attention to the 53-percent drop in the U.S. abortion rate that has taken place since 1980. On those occasions when there is reporting on abortion-rate reductions, journalists typically parrot talking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":77271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[15,7077],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWashington Post columnist is bizarrely disconnected from the facts on abortion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Washington Post published a bizarre, ridiculous column about the long-term U.S abortion rate decline that is unbelievable, even for mainstream media.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-post-bizarrely-disconnected-facts-abortion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington Post columnist is bizarrely disconnected from the facts on abortion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Washington Post published a bizarre, ridiculous column about the long-term U.S abortion rate decline that is unbelievable, even for mainstream media.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-post-bizarrely-disconnected-facts-abortion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-19T11:21:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-18T21:31:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/abortion-rate-decrease.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"672\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"372\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael J. 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