A new report by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice reproductive think tank, suggests that while abortion is safe and legal in most developed countries, it is risky and restricted in the developing world. The Associated Press and USA Today both emphasized the 70,000 annual deaths the study attributes to unsafe abortions.
Political science professor at the University of Alabama Michael New writes that media analysis is "faulty" because it neglects potential social factors and implies restrictive abortion laws are solely responsible.
"These (developing countries mentioned in the report) have low per capita income and a higher incidence of social pathologies that may increase the perceived need for abortion," New writes on The Corner. "This nuance is not picked up in any of the media coverage of the AGI report." New also points out AGI has released other studies linking stricter abortion laws with reduced abortion rates.
The AGI study comes on the heels of a New York Times feature on abortion opponents and protests. The Times also ran an article and slideshow on Monica Migliorino Miller, who photographs aborted fetuses, and an article on "selected reduction," aborting some of the fetuses in a multiple-fetus pregnancy.
Pro-life writers seemed to express shock that The New York Times would run a package that is so sensitive to pro-life concerns. The National Right to Life Committee calls the package "amazing for pro-lifers" and "breathtaking" that the newspaper would run images of aborted fetuses on its website.
Is is good that abortion is getting all this attention in the media? Do you think the reporting is fair and balanced?
