Today’s entry - I think it was a Planned Parenthood person who you played this morning saying that abortion has “saved more lives” or something like that. I’ve been trying to find that quote or that clip since I got to my office, but I can’t find it. Could you let me know who said that or just send me a link? I would really appreciate your help!
Bottom Line: Yesterday, I brought you the information that more than 61.3 million abortions had been performed since the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. I also shared the information that three-quarters of Americans, including a majority of those who identify as “pro-choice” favor restrictions based on timelines for abortions. It was the commentary of a Marilyn McGeorge of “West Virginia Free” that I wrapped my story around. She stated that abortions save lives. As I depicted yesterday, there are a net 624,000 women who’ve been saved via abortion compared to a total loss of life of greater than 104 million. My point in mentioning isn’t specific advocacy, I’m understanding of women facing adversity having a choice. But your note serves another point. Planned Parenthood is very much in the fight against every state law recently passed. They've become the poster child for the abortion debate for good reason. They are the single largest provider of abortions in the United States. But they’re far from the majority provider of abortions. Of the greater than 61.3 million abortions performed in the US since Roe v Wade, Planned Parenthood is responsible for performing about 8.2 million of them. That’s only 13% of all abortions.
The woman representing “West Virginia Free” is much more the norm than the average Planned Parenthood representative. The point is this. The battle over abortions is deeply entrenched with many clinics you’d never recognize by name and will be fought by interest groups you’re familiar with like the ACLU but also many more you’ve never heard of. Many pro-life groups have argued for defunding Planned Parenthood but even if they didn’t exist tomorrow, 87% of abortions would still take place. There’s a lot more to the story and many more organizations at the grassroots level ready to fight for the status quo.
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