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Ann Coulter Explains The Numbers

ann-coulterHere’s another article worth reading. This one by well known conservative author Ann Coulter.

It shows the importance of knowing your facts and using the numbers correctly to prove your point. Unfortunately Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) really put his foot in his mouth when he said that 90% of Planned Parenthood’s services were abortion–and then told reporters this was “not intended to be a factual statement.”

If he had only clarified, as Coulter does, his reputation might have fared better.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The entire mainstream media immediately rose in angry denunciation of Kyl — based on Planned Parenthood’s claim that abortion constitutes less than 3 percent of the services it provides.

Apparently, that depends on the meaning of “services it provides.” If taking 30 seconds to write a prescription for birth control pills is considered the equivalent of a two-hour, multiple-visit $450 abortion, then perhaps abortion does constitute only 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s work.

But according to Planned Parenthood itself, when it comes to services for pregnant women, abortion constituted 97.6 percent of the services Planned Parenthood provided in 2009. Only 2.4 percent of the organization’s services for pregnant women involved prenatal care or adoption referrals.

Again, according to its own reports, Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions in 2009–or more than a quarter of all abortions in the entire country. It receives about 37 percent of its total revenue from performing abortions. …

Reid and Colbert must be getting a lot of cholesterol tests at Planned Parenthood if abortion constitutes only 3 percent of its services.

Definitely some food for thought about the meaning and use of statistics.

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