Which again shows that pedophile apologist loser duke can talk the
talk but can't walk the walk.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2851283

Oct. 17, 2004, 1:27AM

Why abortion rate is up in Bush years
By GLEN HAROLD STASSEN and GARY KRANE

I, Glen, am a Christian ethicist, and trained in statistical analysis.
I am consistently pro-life. My son David is one witness. For my
family, "pro-life" is personal. My wife caught rubella in the eighth
week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise
our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is
a blessing to us and to the world. Gary Krane is an investigative
journalist.

We look at the fruits of political policies more than words. We
analyzed the data on abortion during the Bush presidency. There is no
single source for this information -- federal reports go only to the
year 2000, and many states do not report -- but we found enough data
to identify trends. Our findings are disturbing. ADVERTISEMENT

Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's
abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4 percent decline
during the 1990s. This was a steady decrease averaging 1.7 percent per
year. (The data come from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using
the Guttmacher Institute's studies.)

Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to
continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the
opposite happened.

We found four states that have posted three-year statistics:
Kentucky's increased by 3.2 percent from 2000 to 2003. Michigan's
increased by 11.3 percent from 2000 to 2003. Pennsylvania's increased
by 1.9 percent from 1999 to 2002. Colorado's rates skyrocketed 111
percent. We found 12 additional states that reported statistics for
2001 and 2002. Eight states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6
percent average increase), and four saw a decrease (4.3 percent
average).

Under Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears
to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions
occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected
before this change of direction.

For anyone familiar with why most women have abortions, this is no
surprise:

Two-thirds of women who have abortions cite "inability to afford a
child" as their primary reason (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for
Life). In the Bush presidency, unemployment rates increased half
again. Not since Herbert Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs
during a presidency until the current administration. Average real
incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been
raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers
fear another mouth to feed.

Half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate. And
men who are jobless usually do not marry. In the 16 states, there were
16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions.
As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.

Women worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since
5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this
presidency -- with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those
5.2 million -- abortion increases.

My wife and I know -- as does my son David -- that doctors, nurses,
hospitals, medical insurance, special schooling and parental
employment are crucial for a special child. David attended the
Kentucky School for the Blind, as well as schools for children with
cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was mainstreamed in public
schools as well. We have two other sons and five grandchildren, and we
know that every mother, every father and every child needs public and
family support.

What does this tell us? Economic policy and abortion are not separate
issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere
tinkling brass, without health care, insurance, jobs, child care and a
living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need a
president who will do something about jobs, health insurance and
support for mothers.

Glen Stassen is the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at
Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, Calif. He can be e-mailed at
gstas...@fuller.edu.

Krane is an independent investigative journalist in
Philadelphia.Readers can write to him at 151 Tulpehocken,
Philadelphia, PA 19144 or Coordina...@FairElections.us.

Why abortion rate is up in Bush years
By GLEN HAROLD STASSEN and GARY KRANE
week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise
our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is
a blessing to us and to the world.

Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's
abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4 percent decline
during the 1990s.

Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to
continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the
opposite happened.
We found four states that have posted three-year statistics:
Kentucky's increased by 3.2 percent from 2000 to 2003.

cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was mainstreamed in public
schools as well. We have two other sons and five grandchildren, and we
know that every mother, every father and every child needs public and
family support.

What does this tell us?

Which again shows that pedophile apologist loser duke can talk the
talk but can't walk the walk.