General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrue or False? In 2011, 1,100 reproductive health and rights-related provisions were introduced.
[div style="background-color: #EBF299; padding-left:10px; padding-right:10px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom: 10px; color:red;"]TRUE: In 2011, 1,100 reproductive health and rights-related provisions were introduced in state legislatures, of which 135 passed in 36 states.
I heard a guest on the Diane Rehm show quote this statistic except she said they were anti-reproductive health bills, and immediately thought that couldn't be true because that'd be an average of 22 bills per state. Googling around I see that same wording, or the even more misleading "anti-women", used frequently on many, many high profile sites like Huffington Post.
The correct statistic I quoted above seems to come from the Guttmacher Institute who clarifies the language:
So it's flat out incorrect to say these were all anti-reproductive rights bills, since Guttmacher is counting individual provisions. Furthermore, even though the majority of these provisions were limiting access to, or funding for, abortion and contraceptive services, a large number dealt with other issues. Some of these provisions expanded access for STI prevention and treatment, others expanded access to prenatal care, and eight states took steps to limit exposure to environmental toxins believed or shown to adversely impact reproductive health such as BPA or certain flame retardants.
We really need to be careful when quoting statistics because often those statistics are worded in very precise ways. We don't do ourselves any favors by misrepresenting or misquoting statistics.
Besides, if we look at the subscales that Guttmacher used, we can show good cause for alarm even without misrepresenting the 1,100 number. As the graph shows, actual enacted legislation to restrict access to abortion has skyrocketed since 2008. Quoting Guttmacher again:
The real numbers are alarming enough without crying wolf.
Source: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/updates/2011/statetrends42011.html
polichick
(37,152 posts)Time to WAKE UP!
salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)The actual numbers are scary enough without misrepresenting the statistics.
polichick
(37,152 posts)...and their agenda - so far I've only heard one or two people on msnbc mention it.
salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)Although I seem to remember a PBS Frontline show about Dominionists from a few years ago, but yeah, it's woefully under-represented.
polichick
(37,152 posts)salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)Rachel Tabachnick especially posts informative stuff there.
http://www.talk2action.org