Iain Dale: Abortion Figures Shame This Country

Iain Dale "thinks" Abortion Figures Shame This Country. He has corrected his assertion that one in three conceptions are aborted. But it is still sadly poor statistics followed by a rush of blood.

No time to blog it just now. But this is my response there (Additions in brackets):

As anonymous says one in four. (Though it turns out Iain has mixed abortion stats for UK with births for England so he's still wrong). And it is rather offensive and pre-emptive to be calling foetuses of a few weeks from conception "babies". There are thousands and thousands of miscarriages too which you have not accounted for ... many coming under the apparent "false alarm" category but many many more conceptions that naturally don't go to term. Unless some of these are included in your abortion tally? (These - many of them representing wanted pregnancies that could become wanted babies - are far more tragic than abortions in my view.)

Though brought up by a staunchly "pro-life" mother I am myself pro life in a contrary sense meaning "pro-choice" in the jargon.

It is bad enough having Ms Dorries pontificating about this matter - trying to tell other women how to manage their reproductive faculties - but what makes you think you're entitled to lecture on this?

Are the Cuddly Nu Tories, being progressive and all, coming under the thrall of the religious right?

And no Machievelli (another commentator) it is not feckless and irresponsible - not in most cases - it is raped, it is contraceptive accidental, it is overtaken by circumstances, it is medical for embryo, foetus, baby or mother, it is psychiatric. Whatever it is it is not undertaken lightly by anyone.

Poor statistics with no source. And poor arguments. Superstition and propaganda.

1 in 3 is plain wrong arithmetic. 1 in 4 is lazy and wrong too. Get the correct figures. Then think things through. Or better stand on the shoulders of great women and men and research the thinking that has already been done on the subject. Infuriating.