Bioethics on Air Ep. 130: Problems with US Abortion Statistics
Jan 17, 2025
Joseph Meaney, a Senior Fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center and author of "The Ethics of Abortion Statistics," dives into the complexities of U.S. abortion statistics. He reveals how current data collection methods can mislead, particularly with the rise of chemical abortions. Meaney critiques the validity of informed consent in abortion decisions and highlights the discrepancies between U.S. and Finnish reporting. He also discusses the ethical quandaries in researching abortion methods and projects future shifts in the pro-life movement amid changing societal values.
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US Abortion Statistics Are Unreliable
- US abortion statistics are unreliable due to inconsistent state reporting and ideological bias.
- This severely limits understanding if abortion rates are increasing or decreasing nationwide.
Finland's Detailed Abortion Study
- Finland, with socialized medicine, tracks every abortion accurately and revealed women post-abortion die at triple the average rate.
- This includes deaths from abuse, accidents, and suicide, showing abortion's profound impact on women's lives.
State Reporting Causes Data Gaps
- US abortion data is fragmented because states control reporting, some refuse to report, including populous California.
- Pro-abortion states often suppress data to obscure true abortion figures.