As I have mentioned to a few of you, I've been taking a class this quarter about human sexuality. There are two departments about human sexuality; this is the psychology course. The class is heavily focused on physiology, not just social interactions. We spent a week going over adult body response, another on the menstrual cycle/fetal development.

This is one fo those posts where I rant to my heart's content about something political and controversial. You have been warned.

Today in class we talked about dealing with unwanted pregnancies. It's a very universal theme, and probably stirs up more politicial trouble than almost anything else besides maybe nuclear arms. We talked about abortion, adoption, or keeping the baby. We saw lots of statistics. We talked about legalities.

Out of curiosity, I just did a google search for the term "abortion." Four out of the first five sites I turned up were anti-abortion websites. I browsed around for a while, and now I'm feeling shocked and angry...maybe spoiling for a fight, a little.

I don't mind that there are people that believe that life begins at conception. That's a personal choice, and they're welcome to make it. What bothers me is the deceptive and outright felonious lies that are perpetrated by these activist groups in order to take advantage of scared, vulnerable girls and women who come to their sites seeking medical and emotional advice.

One site in particular was a gem. They had a huge page of Q&A's. The question would start as a "common argument" made by "anti-life" activists, and the answer would be a refute. Every answer on that page was a lie. I could have reinforced every question they had put up with factual citations that I pulled from my lecture notes today. These numbers are based on dozens of studies that have been done on the subject, by reputable organizations. The "facts" this website produced had no given sources, and were based on data that was taken unscientifically.

I'm sorry, but one woman's testimony about how traumatized she was to have an abortion is not an accurate statistic. 90% of women who terminated an unwanted pregnancy reported feeling relief, not regret. 96% said that the choice was easy to make. The incidence of depression was no higher than in the general populace, and was more likely in women who had pre-existing mental health issues or a complete lack of support for their decision. Abortions done primarily because of genetic defects or to spare the health of the mother had higher incidences of the woman feeling sad or depressed, but that's different: she wanted the child.

An article just came out in the New York Times, which summarized the results of a large-scale study that concluded that there is absolutely no fact to the claim that women who have had an abortion are more likely to develop breast cancer. It's not true. Studies done in Europe have shown the same thing. The only studies that DON'T make that conclusion are conducted in such a way that it distorts correlations. (if you want to read the article, it's <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/health/24canc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>here.</a>)

It is also not true--as this site claims--that abortions are highly dangerous. The procedure is more risky the further along the pregnancy is, because of the forcible procedures involved, but early-term terminations have a smaller risk of death associated with then than giving birth, period.

Probably the most astounding FAQ I found on that site was one that said that coathanger abortions have never existed. I would like to meet with the person who had the gall to actually type that out...and maybe demonstrate

Non-medical abortions have been performed since the beginning of time. It is estimated that 19 MILLION unsafe abortions (roughly 1/3 of the total number) happen every year worldwide. Most result in significant internal (and sometimes external) trauma to the woman, sometimes without accomplishing the death of the fetus. They also frequently result in infection and high-volume bleeding. Unsafe abortions kill about 68,000 women every year. Maybe they didn't all use a coat hanger, but what the hell does that matter?

I really can't believe the number of websites out there that distribute this kind of misinformation. Fear-based doctrine isn't civil argument--and worse yet, it's not effective. We know this because fear-based abstinence-only programs that talk about the horrors of teen pregnancy and STD's do not keep people from having sex, and in fact they prevent them from having accurate information about safe sex.

I think it is absolutely the worst kind of crime when people actively distort the truth in order to futher an agenda. It's almost a personal violation to me; they're telling me that I do not have a right to know what I know to be true. They're telling me that I do not have a right to disagree with them. Worse yet, they are putting more vulnerable people into a position where they can be taken advantage of for the rest of their lives.

Teenagers who have children are much more likely to live in poverty, without health insurance. Their children are more likely to be unhealthy, have mental or physical problems, and be abused. Children of teen mothers are HUGELY more likely to become teen mothers themselves. It's a horrible cycle that says a lot about how hypocritical our society is: we told her to have the baby, but now we won't help her raise it.

And there's plenty more hypocrisy where that comes from. According to a survey done in the US, an overwhelming majority of people think that it is most acceptable (out of given options, not including "none") to abort a pregnancy if the fetus has defects that would prevent it from living a quality life. About the same majority of people said that the least acceptable time in a pregnancy to abort is in the 2nd or 3rd trimester--but this is when most genetic and developmental defects are discovered!

There is a huge disconnect in our society about this issue. I would best characterize it, personally, as highly unhealthy denial, or even conspiratorial ignorance. We are so squeamish within our largely Judeo-Christian morality that we leave little room for speculation about what is good for either the individuals OR the society. It's sickening.

These groups that I found tonight claim to be concerned for a woman's spiritual welfare...while they distort the information she receives. The issue that these groups claim is the greatest question of morality is in fact amoral itself.

In this country and many others, it is written into the law that everyone has a right to say what they want without fear of persecution. But I think there's a point where it goes too far. A person should never be actively prohibited from receiving factual information, either.

But I wonder if anyone could ever go to court with one of these organizations and win. At least with the Supreme Court bench we've got right now.