Abortion rates (atheists will love this!)

[Rick Dawkins]

Excerpt: "A study published in the Lancet shows that between 1995 and 2003, the global rate of induced abortions fell from 35 per 1,000 women each year to 29. This period coincides with the rise of the "globalised secular culture" the Pope laments. When the figures are broken down, it becomes clear that, apart from the former Soviet Union, abortion is highest in conservative and religious societies. In largely secular western Europe, the average rate is 12 abortions per 1,000 women. In the more religious southern European countries, the average rate is 18. In the US, where church attendance is still higher, there are 23 abortions for every 1,000 women, the highest level in the rich world. In central and South America, where the Catholic church holds greatest sway, the rates are 25 and 33 respectively."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/26/health.religion

I heart fetuses (with gills)  

[Zambimaru]

Wow. I didn't expect that. Reminds me of when I herd evangelicals have the highest divorced rate in the US.  

[Teoka]

Epic win heart  

[Arios V]

I kinda expected something like that, but those stats are interesting.

Additionally, according the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, atheists have the lowest divorce rate among all religious groups in the world. I'll provide a link to a credible source ASAP.  

[Redem]

I'm not surprised to be honest. Accidental pregnancies will be lower in cultures without any of the anti-contraception baggage that heavily religious societies have.
Abstinence only sex ed is probably to blame for the US's rates.  

[Daffodil the Destroyer]

I'm not surprised either, really. Abstinence only sex ed and drilling "NO SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE" into children's heads have the potential to cause a lot of problems. 1. Sex is "forbidden fruit" and it's exciting because it isn't allowed, so of course it tends to become more appealing to certain types of people (especially those who are so sheltered). 2. Abstinence only and religiously based sex education programs often lie about contraception, telling kids and teens that they don't work, so when my point #1 takes effect they don't bother to protect themselves. 3. If these programs don't lie about contraceptives, they're almost guaranteed to not discuss them at all, so people don't use them because they don't know how.

On a slightly different note, what are everyone's experiences with abortion discussion? I go to school at a university in the Bible Belt and every time abortion comes up in conversation with most of the other students I know, the conservative fundie Christians will almost inevitably start pushing my buttons. I prefer not to interact with most of these people except for casual conversation, so I try to keep my opinions to myself, but it becomes so difficult... There's a pregnant grad student I know who was discussing the "human being" in her uterus and her disdain for people who have abortions "for convenience" (read: any reason other than rape or danger to the mother's life). I just couldn't hold it any longer and I said it's not a human being yet and she and everyone else at the table jumped down my throat, yelling that "IT HAS FINGERNAILS!" as if that somehow grants it immediate status as a developed human being.

Well, news flash: It's NOT a human being; it's not developed enough to be one. It's a human FETUS. It's a potential human being. The damn thing has gills, yet since it has fingers and fingernails, this somehow grants it the status and rights of a human who's already been born? Fetuses are spontaneously aborted all the time (miscarriages), yet nobody denounces the mothers of those potential humans as wrong for allowing their fetuses to die. It's so ridiculous to me.  

[OmG NoMoR3]

This made my day! mrgreen  

[Fox In Bunny-Clothes]

And yet people like Huckabee still claim that the Christian life is the best one. Its seems as though he doesn't pay attention to the facts.....oh, wait thats what being a Christian's all about!!  

[Arios V]

Daffodil the Destroyer

I'm not surprised either, really. Abstinence only sex ed and drilling "NO SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE" into children's heads have the potential to cause a lot of problems. 1. Sex is "forbidden fruit" and it's exciting because it isn't allowed, so of course it tends to become more appealing to certain types of people (especially those who are so sheltered). 2. Abstinence only and religiously based sex education programs often lie about contraception, telling kids and teens that they don't work, so when my point #1 takes effect they don't bother to protect themselves. 3. If these programs don't lie about contraceptives, they're almost guaranteed to not discuss them at all, so people don't use them because they don't know how.

On a slightly different note, what are everyone's experiences with abortion discussion? I go to school at a university in the Bible Belt and every time abortion comes up in conversation with most of the other students I know, the conservative fundie Christians will almost inevitably start pushing my buttons. I prefer not to interact with most of these people except for casual conversation, so I try to keep my opinions to myself, but it becomes so difficult... There's a pregnant grad student I know who was discussing the "human being" in her uterus and her disdain for people who have abortions "for convenience" (read: any reason other than rape or danger to the mother's life). I just couldn't hold it any longer and I said it's not a human being yet and she and everyone else at the table jumped down my throat, yelling that "IT HAS FINGERNAILS!" as if that somehow grants it immediate status as a developed human being.

Well, news flash: It's NOT a human being; it's not developed enough to be one. It's a human FETUS. It's a potential human being. The damn thing has gills, yet since it has fingers and fingernails, this somehow grants it the status and rights of a human who's already been born? Fetuses are spontaneously aborted all the time (miscarriages), yet nobody denounces the mothers of those potential humans as wrong for allowing their fetuses to die. It's so ridiculous to me.

Abstinence doesn't do jack squat. Like anything reverse psychology has taught us, telling people not to do something will only want to make them do it more. Also, you are right about contraceptives, if you want people to stop using them, don't tell them about it.

I live in Northern Virginia, within 30-45 minutes of Washington D.C., and even though, it is surprisingly liberal (and non-theist) around here, many people are still very conservative when it comes to abortion. They don't seem to understand that it isn't a "human being" until (if I remember correctly from my high school health class) 90 days after conception.

The most ridiculous thing about the abortion thing is that we put the life and well-being of an unborn, and undeveloped lump of cells above that of the mother. Basically, we just consider the mother nothing more than a vessel used to reproduce and nothing else.

However, just for some supreme and sweet irony, the Bible actually CONDONES abortions in several cases.
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/abortion.html  

[PhaedraMcSpiffy]

Interesting! I'm going to link to this in Pro-Choice Gaians. They're not all atheists, but it's relevant news. (And, as many have said, it confirms a lot of what we've een saying about the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only education and shame and fear of human sexuality in general.)

Arios V

They don't seem to understand that it isn't a "human being" until (if I remember correctly from my high school health class) 90 days after conception.

That's an odd claim for them to make in a health class, considering there's no scientific evidence whatsoever to back that up.  

[Meirelle]

This is entirely true. And it's because super-religious nations avoid this thing called sex education. Therefore, more chicks get knocked up when it could have been preventable.

A good book on the subject is "How The Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics and The War On Sex" by Cristina Page. It's good reading material. 3nodding  

[LimeIzMyFaveColor]

wow that's great =]

Atheists are the greatest group in the world!  

[Falhalterra]

It just reminds me that most Christians just won't get it when they see their own statistics.

Instead, they become hypocritical and twist things around to get their own point across, which really isn't a point in the first place.  

[MahouTragicQueen]

Arios V

I live in Northern Virginia, within 30-45 minutes of Washington D.C., and even though, it is surprisingly liberal (and non-theist) around here, many people are still very conservative when it comes to abortion. They don't seem to understand that it isn't a "human being" until (if I remember correctly from my high school health class) 90 days after conception.

Don't be ridiculous. If there was a set date to when you become a human being, there wouldn't be so much controversy. The thing that annoys me is how most people who are against abortion are also against teaching about contraceptive. Clearly, you can't have it both ways.