Deal Hudson, who I’m sure is a decent enough man, just can’t seem to get his facts straight about us or Kathleen Sebilius. The media continues to trumpet him as a “Catholic Leader,” even though time and time again he is proven false.

Today Deal called us “surrogates” for Kathleen Sebelius. I guess for pointing out, accurately, that she reduced the number of abortions in Kansas. While I would be honored to be a surrogate for the administration or Sec. Sebelius, I felt it was necessary to clearly say we are not.

Further he calls our claims “dishonest” citing a commentary by his friend Dr. Michael New over on Robert George’s blog. New says the suggestion that Sebilius reduced abortions is wrong on three fronts. He starts

First and foremost, abortion statistics from Kansas are among the least reliable in the country. Between 1979 and 1987 data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment indicate that the number of abortions performed in Kansas fell by almost 50 percent. Then between 1987 and 1992 the number of abortions suddenly increased by 73 percent. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment states that these sharp fluctuations are partly due to changes in reporting and not the actual incidence of abortion. Furthermore, according to data from the CDC, 40 percent of Kansas abortions are performed on out of state residents, which is one of the highest figures in the country.

Well, with a little research, one finds this is largely due to access to clinics in Kansas coupled with surrounding state laws. Further, his last point “40 percent of Kansas abortions are performed on out of state residents, which is one of the highest figures in the country,” actually suggest that Sebelius’ policies worked better than we initially reported because her abortion reduction policies are primarily focussed on citizens of her own state.

Furthermore, when discussing this abortion decline it is unfortunate, but unsurprising, that Catholics United makes no mention of the Casey style “Women’s Right to Know Bill” which took effect in Kansas in 1997. This bill gives women seeking abortions information on fetal development, health risks involved with abortion, and public and private sources of support for single mothers. My research indicates that these laws have been effective at reducing abortion rates in other states. Furthermore, Catholic United does not mention the increased scrutiny given to late term abortionist George Tiller by both former Attorney General Phill Kline and Operation Rescue.

“Women’s Right to Know Bill,” which New writes about here, simply does not justify a 1-1 correlation in abortion reduction measures. Especially if you control for the 40% out-of-state abortions. His suggestion that “My research indicates that these laws have been effective,” way oversteps the conclusions that his research ought to allow for. Further, we (and CU) took the George Tiller story head on. He then writes,

Furthermore, during her tenure as Governor, Kathleen Sebelius has failed to support a number of policies that would have further reduced abortions in Kansas. Sebelius cut state funding for abortion alternatives, vetoed a bill imposing minimal sanitary standards, on abortion clinics, and vetoed a bill that would have strengthened Kansas’s parental notification law. More shocking, is Sebelius’ unyielding support for late-term abortions. She has vetoed a measure that would require explicit medical reasons for late-term abortions and vetoed another measure which would require abortion providers to report the diagnosis which necessitated a post-viability abortion.

This is a faulty argument. I think what he means to say is that Sebilius faced a budget crisis and cut across the board – just like nearly every other state. And, This late-term stuff is the same lie they pushed with Obama. The law as written was unconstitutional. And, late-term abortion legislation already stood on the state and federal level.

You know it is fine to be unwilling to work practically to help women and reduce the numbers of abortions. This group of men have done that for years. But I just wish they wouldn’t distort the truth so openly.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Abortion Reduction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.