|
|
|
|
Why We Devote So Much
Attention to Correcting Pro-Abortion Misinformation Part Three of Three By Dave Andrusko I would not be surprised if readers wonder why I spend SO MUCH TIME rebutting what pro-abortionists say. What difference does it make if the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute uses its in-house arm to crank out a study that supposedly shows that, emotionally, it's no big deal if a teenage girl has an abortion? Alas, while we know PPFA spun off the Guttmacher Institute (GI), the better to pretend it's an "objective" source of information, not all reporters and very few people outside the pro-life community know its studies are tilted. GI is given the benefit of the doubt even when it produces what Prof. Priscilla Coleman correctly described as a "seriously compromised" study purporting to demonstrate that adolescents who have abortions have no increased risk of depression or low self-esteem.
Why did GI feel the need for this study, published not in a peer-reviewed journal but in a publication of the former research arm of Planned Parenthood? It's essential as it attempts to contradict recent studies that have shown the mental health risks of abortion. (See www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/Sept10/nv092910.html.) After all, if abortion is going to remain essentially unchecked, abortion must be presented as, at worst, benign, more likely beneficial. I don't pretend that by pointing out how the study (authored by Jocelyn T. Warren, S. Marie Harvey, and Jillian T. Henderson) is "A skimpy, superficial assessment," we have cut the legs out from underneath its conclusions. After all over the weekend a Boston Globe columnist used "Do Depression and Low Self-Esteem Follow Abortion Among Adolescents? Evidence from a National Study" to make the case that, whew, thank goodness for GI. Without them, Joanna Weiss tells us, all the pregnant teen would have is a quick trip to Google where she would find sites that may have a nugget or two of "useful information," but which have to be dug out of a mine of "deception that ranges from subtle to absurd." Needless to say, any source of information that (unlike GI) doesn't toe the pro-abortion line is "absurd." However we provide you with the best information on the real story about the impact of abortion, from experts such as NRLC Director of Education Dr. Randall K. O'Bannon, NRLC President Dr. Wanda Franz, and Prof. Priscilla Coleman. In so doing, we are equipping you to write letters to the editor, guest op-ed pieces written as a rebuttal, and, most important, speak knowledgably to your neighbors so you can debunk pro-abortion distortions found in studies such as "Do Depression and Low Self-Esteem Follow Abortion Among Adolescents? Evidence from a National Study." Take a moment to re-read our rebuttal-- "Serious Flaws in Study Purporting to Show No Depression Risk for Post-Abortive Teens--found at www.nrlc.org/News_and_Views/Sept10/nv092910.html. That's one of the big reasons we are here--to make you a more effective witness for the unborn. Please send your comments on Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha |