HomeschoolrsRUs
03-07-2006, 09:40 AM
Tracking the Times Abortion Numbers - NRO (http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/new200603070828.asp)
March 07, 2006, 8:28 a.m.
By Michael J. New
On Monday, the New York Times published an article (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda06-01.cfm) arguing that recently enacted parental-involvement laws have been unable to reduce the incidence of abortion among teens. On its surface, the analysis looks convincing. In 6 states, the authors track the percentage of abortions among pregnancies for girls under 18 both before and after the passage of parental-involvement legislation. According to the data presented by the authors, the passage of legislation appears to do little to change this percentage. Furthermore, after the enactment of legislation, the childbearing decisions of minors continue to closely track the childbearing decisions of women ages 18 to 19 — women who would not be directly affected by parental-involvement legislation.
However, there exist some significant shortcomings with the Times's analysis.
[ snip , snip ]
Furthermore, it is possible that the presence of parental-involvement laws may reduce abortions by not only changing the decisions of girls who are already pregnant, but also by reducing the likelihood that teen girls will get pregnant in the first place. However, analyzing the percentage of abortions among pregnancies will not lend any insights into the ability of parental-involvement laws to reduce abortions by changing the sexual behavior of minors.
March 07, 2006, 8:28 a.m.
By Michael J. New
On Monday, the New York Times published an article (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda06-01.cfm) arguing that recently enacted parental-involvement laws have been unable to reduce the incidence of abortion among teens. On its surface, the analysis looks convincing. In 6 states, the authors track the percentage of abortions among pregnancies for girls under 18 both before and after the passage of parental-involvement legislation. According to the data presented by the authors, the passage of legislation appears to do little to change this percentage. Furthermore, after the enactment of legislation, the childbearing decisions of minors continue to closely track the childbearing decisions of women ages 18 to 19 — women who would not be directly affected by parental-involvement legislation.
However, there exist some significant shortcomings with the Times's analysis.
[ snip , snip ]
Furthermore, it is possible that the presence of parental-involvement laws may reduce abortions by not only changing the decisions of girls who are already pregnant, but also by reducing the likelihood that teen girls will get pregnant in the first place. However, analyzing the percentage of abortions among pregnancies will not lend any insights into the ability of parental-involvement laws to reduce abortions by changing the sexual behavior of minors.