# GOP plan to appeal to millennials: “Make abortion funny” **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 19, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317 "2013-06-19T00:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/81 "2013-06-20T15:51:49Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > As it is, this really does highlight the problem with liberal thinking. You guys and gals like to point out the U.S. has a higher abortion rate than most other industrialized countries and just loooooove to blame conservatives, yet you ignore the fact that the U.S. has a high abortion rate _because_ of liberal and liberal leaning states, not because of conservative or conservative leaning states. Perhaps you could give me an example of us liberals making this argument, since I’ve never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/82 "2013-06-20T16:07:15Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I think it’s funny that solidly Democratic states (tend to) have higher abortion rates than their Republican counterparts and a greater percentage of abortions obtained by women who live in state rather than out of state compared to their counterparts. I’m not even sure what point you’re making here, but I thought [this list of teen pregnancy rates by states](http://www.livescience.com/27417-teen-pregnancy-rates-by-state.html) might be somewhat relevant. Hint: the bright red states don’t do so hot. This [site](http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/unintended-pregnancy/) also has some interesting factoids – like what happens when you don’t allow sex ed and make abortion difficult: "• In 2006, 14,200 or 59% of births that resulted from unintended pregnancy in Massachusetts were publicly funded. Nationally, 64% of births that resulted from unintended pregnancy were publicly funded, ranging from a low of 42% in Hawaii to a high of 81% in both Louisiana and Mississippi.(7) " ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/83 "2013-06-20T17:33:59Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Even then, Texas, Kansas and Louisiana have higher abortion rates than Minnesota, Wisconsin or Iowa. So what? I did say “tend to”, which does have meaning, you know. Anyway, since it’s obviously too hard to click on a link, here are the abortion rates by state listed from highest to lowest. > [@](#): > > Legal abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 - 44, taken from the Alan Guttmacher State Facts about Abortion > > Delaware: 40.0 > New York: 37.6 > New Jersey: 31.3 > District Of Columbia: 29.9 > Maryland: 29.0 > California: 27.6 > Florida: 27.2 > Nevada: 25.9 > Connecticut: 24.6 > Rhode Island: 22.9 > Hawaii: 22.6 > Illinois: 20.5 > Kansas: 19.6 > Georgia: 19.2 > Michigan: 18.4 > Massachusetts: 18.3 > Washington: 18.3 > Virginia: 17.6 > North Carolina: 17.5 > Oregon: 17.3 > Pennsylvania: 17.0 > Texas: 16.5 > Louisiana: 16.1 > Colorado: 15.7 > New Mexico: 15.5 > Tennessee: 15.5 > Arizona: 15.2 > Ohio: 14.7 > Minnesota: 12.5 > Vermont: 12.5 > Montana: 12.3 > New Hampshire: 12.3 > Alabama: 12.0 > Alaska: 12.0 > Iowa: 11.3 > Maine 11.2 > North Dakota: 11.2 > Oklahoma: 9.9 > Arkansas: 8.7 > Indiana: 8.3 > Nebraska: 8.1 > South Carolina: 8.1 > Wisconsin: 7.4 > Utah: 6.7 > West Virginia: 6.6 > Missouri: 6.3 > Idaho: 6.0 > South Dakota: 5.6 > Kentucky: 5.1 > Mississippi: 4.6 > Wyoming: 0.9 Feel free to note the geographic, and thusly political, differences between the states at the top, the middle and the bottom. > [@](#): > > I’d like to see an r-squared on the assertion that red/blue is correlated to a higher abortion rate . I’d also like to see the r2’d on abortions correlated to providers per capita. Why? So you can be told something blatantly obvious? [Meh, whatever](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2012/06/geography-abortion/1711/). > [@](#): > > Mellander and I looked at the key economic, cultural, and demographic factors that might also be associated with the state-by-state variation in abortion rates, running correlations for both the states where abortions occurred and the states where the women who obtained them resided. As always, I hasten to add that correlation is not at all the same thing as causation, and point only to association between variables. > > First and foremost, the geography of abortion follows the red and blue political patterning of the states. **It is positively associated with the share of state voters who voted for Obama in 2008 (.60 to .65) and negatively associated with McCain votes (-.58 to -.63)**. This is a dramatic change from 1974-1988, the period covered by the 1994 NBER study, which found that “extensive Republican or Democratic control in a state is uncorrelated with abortion rates." It is however in line with a 2011 study which found that:. > > > [@](#): > > > > “Geographically speaking, the states that adopt unrestricted policies tend to be located in the Northeast and on the West Coast. The restricted funding states, on the other hand, call the Midwest and the South home. This regional breakdown generally does reflect the predictable red state, blue state divide.” > [@](#): > > Also, from what I’m aware of, it isn’t uncommon for Minnesota abortion clinics to get South Dakota residents. Do you not click on links? The out of state abortion rate for South Dakota is actually higher than Minnesotta, meaning it’s more “common” for a woman to travel to South Dakota for an abortion than it is for a woman to travel to Minnesota for one. > [@](#): > > Another interesting correlation would be to break it out by poverty in the states. And multivariate that by race. If by “interesting” you mean “to point out the painfully obvious”, then sure. It’d be “interesting”. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Perhaps you could give me an example of us liberals making this argument, since I’ve never heard it. lol, really? I guess I must have dreamt up all those people stating how “the U.S. has a high abortion rate because of conservative policies like abstinence only education or being opposed to (free) birth control” or all those people somehow arguing that conservatives cause there to be more abortions by wanting to make it illegal or other such nonsense. Obviously. Because they most certainly don’t exist. Most certainly not. … Yeah… Seriously now? No I’m not about to go source that, when you damn well know such arguments get bandied around willy nilly, in virtually every single abortion related thread that pops up. One of liberals’ favorite phrase generally begins with “If you cared about the abortion rate, you’d \”, whether that be comprehensive sex ed, giving out free contraceptives or whatever else it is you guys and gals get a tingly feeling over. > [@Finagle](#): > > I’m not even sure what point you’re making here, but I thought [this list of teen pregnancy rates by states](http://www.livescience.com/27417-teen-pregnancy-rates-by-state.html) might be somewhat relevant. Hint: the bright red states don’t do so hot. > > This [site](http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/unintended-pregnancy/) also has some interesting factoids – like what happens when you don’t allow sex ed and make abortion difficult: > > "• In 2006, 14,200 or 59% of births that resulted from unintended pregnancy in Massachusetts were publicly funded. Nationally, 64% of births that resulted from unintended pregnancy were publicly funded, ranging from a low of 42% in Hawaii to a high of 81% in both Louisiana and Mississippi.(7) " For a moment there, I thought this thread was about abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/84 "2013-06-20T18:08:08Z")
Considering what most conservative politicians say about global warming, evolution, and even abortion itself, I didn’t know they were concerned about “scientific literacy.” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/85 "2013-06-20T18:13:02Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > For a moment there, I thought this thread was about abortion. Well, it would be pretty naive to think that there’s no relationship between unintended pregnancy and abortion. So if some person was to brag about lower rates of abortion in red states, it would be idiotic not to consider the consequences as well. If you want to look at the screamingly hilarious aspect of abortion, all you have to do is look at the conservative attitude towards sex and pregnancy. Sex ed: Nope. Just don’t none of you horny bored teenagers have sex. Birth Control: Nope. Not in God’s plan. Prenatal Care: Forget it – Because the provider might potentially also provide or consult on abortion services. Morning after pills: Nope, nope, nope. Against my beliefs. Abortion: Heavens no. Won’t someone think of the children? Financial and medical support for single parents: Why should _we_ think of the children? So conservatives won’t help women avoid getting pregnant, won’t allow them to terminate those unwanted pregnancies, AND get bent out of shape when asked to help support those unwanted children and financially unprepared parents. What could be funnier than that? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/86 "2013-06-20T18:13:58Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Considering what most conservative politicians say about global warming, evolution, and even abortion itself, I didn’t know they were concerned about “scientific literacy.” They’re concerned their constituents will be exposed to it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/87 "2013-06-20T18:35:15Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > You guys and gals like to point out the U.S. has a higher abortion rate than most other industrialized countries I have literally never heard anyone point this out in an argument about abortion. Regardless it’s not very funny. Maybe if you said it in a squeaky voice? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/88 "2013-06-20T18:36:14Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I think it’s funny that solidly Democratic states (tend to) have higher abortion rates than their Republican counterparts and a greater percentage of abortions obtained by women who live in state rather than out of state compared to their counterparts. I have to ask: so what? If one believes that abortion is not murder, is a medical procedure like any other, then so fucking what if people take advantage of that legal right? So there are higher abortion rates, big deal! That’s like complaining about higher ice cream sales! You see, some of us don’t have the automatic disgust response to abortion like you think we ought to. I hear a state has more abortions, and I say “so?” If someone I know gets an abortion, I say “so?” If I had a daughter and she wanted an abortion, I would react the same way as if she asked for a nose job. I don’t look at a woman differently who never had an abortion vs. one who’s had several. You know what I would say if I found out my mother had one? “Oh, that’s cool, guess you had your reasons.” I wouldn’t dwell on the sibling I never had or be afraid of how close I was to get aborted, it would raise a big fat zero in my panic meter. Like it or not, believe it or not, there are people out there who don’t believe the same thing you do and don’t consider fetuses to be a separate entity deserving of rights over that of the mother. And if those fetuses should be annihilated, some of us would say “so?” So Democratic states have higher rates of abortion? That’s wonderful! It seems like women in blue states are taking advantage of their safe and legal medical procedure! Good job having an abortion and not bringing in a sick baby or an unwanted baby into the world! I’m happy for them! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/89 "2013-06-20T18:36:39Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I have literally never heard anyone point this out in an argument about abortion. Regardless it’s not very funny. Maybe if you said it in a squeaky voice? Same here. **OMG** who have you been talking to or reading? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/90 "2013-06-20T19:02:18Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > For a moment there, I thought this thread was about abortion. No-it’s about the Republicans thinking that they need to make jokes about abortion to win votes. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/91 "2013-06-20T20:00:39Z")
Talking about which states have more abortions is like talking about which states have more gallbladder removals. Who gives a shit? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/92 "2013-06-20T21:38:52Z")
Dear **Miss Elizabeth** : We here at the American Committee for Gall Bladder Awareness have noticed your message on the much esteemed SDMB. While we do not doubt your intentions are sincere and well-meant, we must take some exception to your cavalier and off-handed reference to matters of gall bladder health and awareness, and ask that you take a moment to reconsider your attitude. Thanking you in advance, I remain, very truly yours Billy Rubin, M.D. Chairman, _American Committee for Gall Bladder Awareness_ ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/93 "2013-06-20T22:08:48Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I’m far too lazy to go hunt down past posts, so I’ll just post the one I can think up off the top of my head. > > [Pew](http://www.pewforum.org/Abortion/roe-v-wade-at-40.aspx) > > > [@](#): > > > > Identical percentages of women and men (62% each) are aware that Roe dealt with abortion. Nearly seven-in-ten Republicans (68%) answered this question correctly, compared with 63% of independents and 57% of Democrats. When the differences are so much more dramatic by age group - 44% of those ages 18-29 answering correctly vs. 64% ages 30-49 - party differences would have to be controlled for that factor before they’d be very meaningful. Surely when you used the word “counterpart” you were thinking of two people from a similar demographic of different political orientations. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/94 "2013-06-20T22:16:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > That sounds like a lame attempt to identify with young people, akin to selling the conservative message by using more hip words like “Whack”. > > However, there is an opening. The President’s lost 17 points in approval rating due to young voters abandoning him. I bet he’ll lose even more when the health care bill goes into effect and they try to force young people to buy a product they don’t want, for more than they’d otherwise have to pay for it. > > You don’t need hip words and comedy to sell the conservative agenda to young people. As far as abortion goes, just remind them they are part of the “survivor generation”. Their brothers and sisters and the friends they should have had were flushed and they narrowly missed getting flushed too. I think about 23% of pregnancies end in abortion. Abortion is just a form of birth control. I don’t feel bad for all the kids that weren’t born because my parents used contraception. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/95 "2013-06-21T00:45:59Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, it would be pretty naive to think that there’s no relationship between unintended pregnancy and abortion. So if some person was to brag about lower rates of abortion in red states, it would be idiotic not to consider the consequences as well. Unless you’re going to labor under the assumption that “unintended” means “unwanted”, then no, it’s not all that naïve. It doesn’t matter what percentage of pregnancies are unintended if they’re, as you guys and gals love to say, “wanted”. Check out [Table 1](https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/psrh/full/4307811.pdf), which highlights this point. Even though “red” states tend to have a higher percentage of unintended pregnancies as a total of all pregnancies than do “blue” states, they have a lower percentage of women responding that those pregnancies were “unwanted” and, thusly, have fewer abortions when compared to their "blue’ counterparts, who are more likely to label unintended pregnancies as “unwanted”. The low rates of abortion is “red” states is a consequence of women in “red” states choosing to carry a greater percentage of their pregnancies to term than are “blue” states, whereas the high abortion rate in “blue” states is a consequence of women in “blue” states being more apt to label it as “unwanted” and having an abortion. Looking at the data, you can conclude that the biggest determinant of the abortion rate isn’t whether or not a pregnancy was “unintended”, but rather on whether or not a woman labels that pregnancy as “mistimed” or “unwanted”. In which case, “blue” states need to do a better job of getting their unintended pregnancy rates down, since they’re more apt to abort those pregnancies than are their “red” state counterparts. So when will you accept that conservatives actually practice what they preach, unlike their liberal counterparts who go on and on and on about the high incidence of abortion, yet are the main reason for it, and sometimes celebrate it? (Hell, look at YogSosoth’s post.) > [@](#): > > If you want to look at the screamingly hilarious aspect of abortion, all you have to do is look at the conservative attitude towards sex and pregnancy. > > Sex ed: Nope. Just don’t none of you horny bored teenagers have sex. > Birth Control: Nope. Not in God’s plan. > Prenatal Care: Forget it – Because the provider might potentially also provide or consult on abortion services. > Morning after pills: Nope, nope, nope. Against my beliefs. > Abortion: Heavens no. Won’t someone think of the children? > Financial and medical support for single parents: Why should _we_ think of the children? > > So conservatives won’t help women avoid getting pregnant, won’t allow them to terminate those unwanted pregnancies, AND get bent out of shape when asked to help support those unwanted children and financially unprepared parents. What could be funnier than that? It’s called personal responsibility, something liberals don’t understand. Sex has consequences; if you can’t stand the thought of being pregnant, keep your legs closed, as sex is the only way to conceive (IVF notwithstanding, of course. So simple, it hurts. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > I have to ask: so what? If one believes that abortion is not murder, is a medical procedure like any other, then so fucking what if people take advantage of that legal right? So there are higher abortion rates, big deal! That’s like complaining about higher ice cream sales! > > You see, some of us don’t have the automatic disgust response to abortion like you think we ought to. I hear a state has more abortions, and I say “so?” If someone I know gets an abortion, I say “so?” If I had a daughter and she wanted an abortion, I would react the same way as if she asked for a nose job. I don’t look at a woman differently who never had an abortion vs. one who’s had several. You know what I would say if I found out my mother had one? “Oh, that’s cool, guess you had your reasons.” I wouldn’t dwell on the sibling I never had or be afraid of how close I was to get aborted, it would raise a big fat zero in my panic meter. > > Like it or not, believe it or not, there are people out there who don’t believe the same thing you do and don’t consider fetuses to be a separate entity deserving of rights over that of the mother. And if those fetuses should be annihilated, some of us would say “so?” > > So Democratic states have higher rates of abortion? That’s wonderful! It seems like women in blue states are taking advantage of their safe and legal medical procedure! Good job having an abortion and not bringing in a sick baby or an unwanted baby into the world! I’m happy for them! It’s funny how no Democrat has the balls (or ovaries) to go on TV and say this. And why would they? They’d instantly lose millions of voters, which is why they instead hide behind euphemisms like “women’s rights” or “reproductive freedom” or whatever other term they’re using now. But it’s nothing most of us pro-lifers already know, so that’s that. As a side note, I’m always amused by the fact that people who are in no danger of being aborted somehow resort to the “Well, it wouldn’t faze me if I found out I was!” line. Well, ugh… No shit, considering you’re born. If you were in danger of having your brains sucked out, your lungs collapsed or your body dismembered, your tune wouldn’t be quite the same as it is now. > [@Marley23](#): > > I have literally never heard anyone point this out in an argument about abortion. Regardless it’s not very funny. Maybe if you said it in a squeaky voice? Oh? You mean you’ve never heard the claim that, say, Western Europe has a lower abortion rate than the U.S. because of their liberal policies on abortion (which, actually, are more conservative than the U.S.) and that Republican policies cause there to be more abortions? I’m just checking here to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/96 "2013-06-21T02:17:08Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So when will you accept that conservatives actually practice what they preach, unlike their liberal counterparts who go on and on and on about the high incidence of abortion, yet are the main reason for it, and sometimes celebrate it? Do you actually know any liberals? You don’t seem to know how actual liberal humans think… as a liberal human, I’d be happy to help, if you’re interested. > [@](#): > > It’s called personal responsibility, something liberals don’t understand. Sex has consequences; if you can’t stand the thought of being pregnant, keep your legs closed, as sex is the only way to conceive (IVF notwithstanding, of course. So simple, it hurts. See above. Since young people have always been having lots of sex, and always will, and we have the ability to reduce the negative consequences, we should. Also, liberals in general don’t think of most sex as sinful and dirty. And, of course, the liberals who think like me about abortion believe that government should not infringe on the bodily autonomy of individuals to expel things from their bodies that they don’t want inside them. > [@](#): > > If you were in danger of having your brains sucked out, your lungs collapsed or your body dismembered, your tune wouldn’t be quite the same as it is now. Ok, I’ll go on record and say that I oppose post-birth abortions. Unless one person has entered another, and the second person wants the first person out- then the second person can abort the first. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/97 "2013-06-21T02:42:50Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > . . . Luckily, most of the populace is scientifically illiterate, so it all works out. The conservative approach to education. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/98 "2013-06-21T02:49:01Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Whenever a Democrat opens his/her mouth about abortion, it’s usually to cite some scientifically illiterate, pseudo philosophical defense of abortion, but no one seems to care about that. > > Luckily, **most of the populace is scientifically illiterate** , so it all works out. Why do you consider that a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/99 "2013-06-21T06:30:49Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Unless you’re going to labor under the assumption that “unintended” means “unwanted”, then no, it’s not all that naïve. It doesn’t matter what percentage of pregnancies are unintended if they’re, as you guys and gals love to say, “wanted”. Check out [Table 1](https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/psrh/full/4307811.pdf), which highlights this point. Even though “red” states tend to have a higher percentage of unintended pregnancies as a total of all pregnancies than do “blue” states, they have a lower percentage of women responding that those pregnancies were “unwanted” and, thusly, have fewer abortions when compared to their "blue’ counterparts, who are more likely to label unintended pregnancies as “unwanted”. > > The low rates of abortion is “red” states is a consequence of women in “red” states choosing to carry a greater percentage of their pregnancies to term than are “blue” states, whereas the high abortion rate in “blue” states is a consequence of women in “blue” states being more apt to label it as “unwanted” and having an abortion. Looking at the data, you can conclude that the biggest determinant of the abortion rate isn’t whether or not a pregnancy was “unintended”, but rather on whether or not a woman labels that pregnancy as “mistimed” or “unwanted”. In which case, “blue” states need to do a better job of getting their unintended pregnancy rates down, since they’re more apt to abort those pregnancies than are their “red” state counterparts. > > So when will you accept that conservatives actually practice what they preach, unlike their liberal counterparts who go on and on and on about the high incidence of abortion, yet are the main reason for it, and sometimes celebrate it? > > (Hell, look at YogSosoth’s post.) > > It’s called personal responsibility, something liberals don’t understand. Sex has consequences; if you can’t stand the thought of being pregnant, keep your legs closed, as sex is the only way to conceive (IVF notwithstanding, of course. So simple, it hurts. > > It’s funny how no Democrat has the balls (or ovaries) to go on TV and say this. And why would they? They’d instantly lose millions of voters, which is why they instead hide behind euphemisms like “women’s rights” or “reproductive freedom” or whatever other term they’re using now. But it’s nothing most of us pro-lifers already know, so that’s that. > > As a side note, I’m always amused by the fact that people who are in no danger of being aborted somehow resort to the “Well, it wouldn’t faze me if I found out I was!” line. Well, ugh… No shit, considering you’re born. If you were in danger of having your brains sucked out, your lungs collapsed or your body dismembered, your tune wouldn’t be quite the same as it is now. > > Oh? You mean you’ve never heard the claim that, say, Western Europe has a lower abortion rate than the U.S. because of their liberal policies on abortion (which, actually, are more conservative than the U.S.) and that Republican policies cause there to be more abortions? > > I’m just checking here to be sure. Since I’m sure he wouldn’t stray off topic(“Make Abortion Funny”), could somebody please explain **OMG** ’s joke to me-I don’t think I got the punchline. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317/100 "2013-06-21T08:55:45Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > IOh? You mean you’ve never heard the claim that, say, Western Europe has a lower abortion rate than the U.S. because of their liberal policies on abortion (which, actually, are more conservative than the U.S.) and that Republican policies cause there to be more abortions? > > I’m just checking here to be sure. Usually I hear the claim that Western Europe has a lower abortion rate because they have comprehensive sex education and more readily available birth control instead of assuming that even uttering the word “sex” in the presence of teens will magically cause them to go hump like rabbits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gop-plan-to-appeal-to-millennials-make-abortion-funny/661317.md?page=6)