Where the Rubber Hits the Road: CBC News - British Columbia - Abortion statistics must be public: B.C. group

13 May, 2010

CBC News - British Columbia - Abortion statistics must be public: B.C. group

If you can find out how many hip replacement or appendix operations take place in a publicly funded hospital, why can we not know how many abortions are performed? It's not as it they are asking for names!

Just another piece of evidence that abortion is NOT an normal medical procedure! If it were, it would not require special legislation to keep the numbers quiet.

CBC News - British Columbia - Abortion statistics must be public: B.C. group

11 comments:

Lady Janus14 May, 2010
The reason you can find out how many hip replacements or appendectomies are done is because nobody is trying to pass laws against them and whipping up a public frenzy about them in front of the hospitals that perform those surgeries!
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Mary G14 May, 2010
whatever procedure is being done at a hospital i have a right to know how they are using MY money.
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Anonymous14 May, 2010
Lady Janus makes a good point.

When there are armed nut cases (willing to murder) running around, supported by a diffuse network of 'pro-life' fanatics, hospitals and doctors have good reason not to draw attention to this medical procedure. I assume you have all heard of the late Dr. George Tiller?

You are right - abortion is not a 'normal' procedure precisely for the reason I have noted above. It should be - but it is not.

Cheers...Martin
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Lady Janus14 May, 2010
So, Mary, why don't you want to know how many tonsillectomies are being done on YOUR money?

And then let's turn it around on you, shall we? How about you list for me all the medical appointments and their treatments and outcomes you've ever had on MY money...
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Fr. Tim Moyle14 May, 2010
Lady Janus: You are making a category error in your comparison.

The question is why is abortion uniquely not included in these statistics, not whether or not anyone has the right to know what other treatments individuals receive in their life.

This is the same error that Martin makes. No one is asking what doctors perform the procedure, simply how many procedures are performed. On this point, Martin there have been two pro-life people killed in the past year in the US for legally protesting outside of clinics. Somehow their deaths did not warrant any coverage in the media in the same way that Dr. Tiller's death was. C'est la vie I guess.

Fr. Tim
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Lady Janus14 May, 2010
In my first response, I answered the question of why not. And yes, they do want to know which doctors -- and at which hospitals -- perform abortions. They target specific hospitals for information and when they are turned down, they whine that it's "in the public interest" for them to have that information.

It is not in the public interest for anti-choicers to have stats on abortion (who, what ethnicity, what age, how many children does she already have, how many abortions has she had, is she married, where does she live, is she "religious," is she straight or gay -- all this information is covered under "statistics." I don't trust them. And I hope they never get that kind of access to everyone else's private business!

What possible use could they have for these statistics, anyway?
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Small Town Guy14 May, 2010
Lady Janus,

I don't think that asking to know how many abortions are being performed in each hospital is the same as asking "who, what ethnicity, what age, how many children does she already have, etc". I know you don't agree that society, pro life groups, and pro life people have a right to know how many abortions are being performed and where they are performed, but we live in a democratic society where the public funds the public health care system. Therefore it is reasonable to have these facts. They are relevant to the abortion debate.
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Lady Janus16 May, 2010
Wayne, you're not getting the picture. Read the article more closely. They want STATISTICS on abortion -- which necessarily include a whole lot more information than simply how many and where!

It is NOT "reasonable" for anyone to know any more about someone's private life than they are willing to tell you.

And there should be no abortion "debate." Any pretense that this is a viable subject for debate is a smoke screen hiding the authoritarianism of one group's being allowed to legislate their own brand of "morality" over another group who does not agree with them.
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Anonymous17 May, 2010
Hi Tim,

B.C. Pro-Life already knows how many abortions are performed in the province. That information is already in the public domain.

As Lady Janus rightly points out, B.C. Pro Life wants to have a breakdown by hospital. That represents a real security concern for hospitals as it opens them up to potential attacks.

I in no way condone violence. As for the 2 anti-abotion protestors who died, I believe that their stories were covered in local and regional media. The amount of media coverage a death receives is not an indication of the victim's worth or value.

I don't know why you are bringing up this point. In fact, there is no equivalency between BC Pro Life's request for information (which could very well expose hospitals and their staff to violence), and the unfortunate deaths of 2 anti-abortion protesters. No one is saying that the pro-life movement has to post the names and addresss of their members on a public website.

Cheers...Martin
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Anonymous04 June, 2010
:o
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