Happy Birthday, Roe v. Wade

[filkertom]

Decision announced on this date in 1973.

Comments

[arthwollipot]

The book Freakonomics shows a correlation between Roe Vs. Wade and the sudden drop in crime in US cities in the 90s.

Basically, the kids that were more likely to grow up into criminals (unwanted children born to young, underprivileged unwed mothers) were not being born. The women who were most likely to seek abortion were the ones whose children were at most risk of committing crimes when they were older.

I don't believe that abortion should be a woman's first choice, but where necessary it's important that it be legal and safe.

[filkertom]

That's a very slippery slope to engage in. In fact, when Bill Bennett made a similar argument a couple of years ago, in the most offensive manner possible, the Freakonomics blog spoke on the very thing. Kinds strangely, actually.

[realinterrobang]

Many women who have abortions already have children, so I'm not entirely sure Freakonomics was really onto anything. I'm also not entirely sure that young, unwed, impoverished women are more likely to have abortions than not. I was kind of under the impression based on what reading I'd done that the women most likely to have abortions in the US were women with resources (e.g. wealthier women, probably married). Certainly there's a strong correlation between poverty and lack of access to abortion

[pandoradeloeste]

Many women who have abortions already have children, so I'm not entirely sure Freakonomics was really onto anything. I'm also not entirely sure that young, unwed, impoverished women are more likely to have abortions than not. I was kind of under the impression based on what reading I'd done that the women most likely to have abortions in the US were women with resources (e.g. wealthier women, probably married). Certainly there's a strong correlation between poverty and lack of access to abortion.

A few years ago I took the volunteer training to be a Planned Parenthood counselor/escort/nonspecific person-at-arms, and as part of our orientation we learned that a significant portion of PP's patients (don't remember if it was a majority, but certainly lots of them) are married women who already have all the kids they can handle and whose birth control didn't work.

[smoooom]

I'm not going to say anything, but I do know that I doubt I'll ever read Freakonomics. It sounds like a book unlikley to have a lot of grounding in reality.

[r_caton]

It's quite an eye opener, actually. Full of stuff very few people see because nobody bothers to look at it.
Worth a read.
And a thought.
And an informed decision of ones own.

[jslove]

I've read it. It's extremely grounded in reality. That's the point. Stranger than we can imagine.