A Lie Mutates

The use of suicide threat as political blackmail spreads to pro-abortion rhetoric

The well-used tactic of transgender activists — to threaten that confused people will kill themselves if society doesn’t indulge their whims — has mutated and jumped into the rhetorical arsenal of pro-abortion activists. Last month JAMA Psychiatry online (Dec. 28) released a study claiming abortion restrictions probably cause suicide. Thomas Kelly, writing at The Federalist (“Study Claims Abortion Restrictions Are Linked To Suicide — But Ignores Crucial Data Showing Otherwise,” Jan. 18), exposes the study’s flaws. Kelly points out:

  • “the authors lack the majority of the data they should have” because they “throw out” much of it
  • “data the authors claim is unavailable from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is in fact available”
  • “the pattern of missing data leads to a biased overestimate of suicide rates”
  • “the use of statistical controls was poor”
  • The flawed paper, Kelly notes, “was immediately promoted by various media outlets including The Guardian, NBC News, and The Hill. (Considering the study’s obvious defects, it seems appropriate to remind readers of the innumeracy and inability to fact-check of today’s mainstream reporters and editors in the U.S. and the U.K. But then, why would they let numbers and facts get in the way of a good narrative?)

 

The link to Kelly’s article: https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/18/study-claims-abortion-restrictions-are-linked-to-suicide-but-ignores-crucial-data-showing-otherwise/

 

Barbara E. Rose is Web Editor of the NOR.

From The Narthex

Lay Saints 'In the Pipeline' - Part IX

Let us take a look at the laypersons who are in the pipeline to be…

'Catholics Have Lost Patience'

NOR readers who follow our daily news links are no doubt up-to-the-minute on the clerical…

Virginity in the Modern World

Vatican II talked about the Church in dialogue with the modern world. Some of us…