Atlantic editor Megan McArdle
I ran across a very interesting article today by Megan McArdle, senior editor for the Atlantic. The thrust of the piece concerned why the “millennial” generation is growing in support for gay “marriage,” but waning in their support for abortion.
While the article gives some interesting reasons for that discrepancy and is well worth a read, one section really jumped out at me. McArdle was taking another article on the millennial question to task for implying that pro-lifers don’t really understand how many women, and which women, are having abortions and that if we only understood how widespread it was, we would just accept it. McArdle doesn’t think so:
Do you know who has the most accurate grasp of the number of abortions performed annually in this country? My pro-life friends. My pro-choice friends, in my limited experience, usually cannot come within half a million of the actual number. Now, you can argue that my pro-life friends are unusually well informed, and that’s true—I’m sure that there are loads of pro-lifers who believe wildly inflated statistics. But they’re about as well informed as my liberal friends, who generally dramatically underestimate the number of abortions obtained in America.
She’s absolutely right. Almost every pro-lifer I know could tell you the number of abortions performed in America each day and most pro-choice folks I talk to have very little idea what the real numbers are. But that’s all the more reason to make sure that the facts you have are the real facts.
I’ve found myself citing statistics I was sure were true, only to find that they were outdated or just plain wrong.
Fortunately, there are great resources out there like the League’s Sharing the Pro-Life Message handbook. It’s a compact 96-page handbook that will fit in any pocket or purse and is packed with up to date facts and figures on ever aspect of the abortion issue.
Plus, if you’re not sure you’ve got the most recent stats, you can always check the League’s FAQ page which we keep updated with the latest statistics and information available.
Either way, the pro-life message is getting out, and it is a huge part of the solution to the abortion problem. Planned Parenthood’s supporters are in a fog of misinformation. Let’s help clear that fog away with solid, pro-life facts and a charitable, open demeanor!
