Gilda De Ferrari – 5/1/07

This page was last updated on May 6, 2007.

Recklessly inaccurate; Gilda De Ferrari; Beaver County Times; May 1, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“In ‘A return to sanity’ (Wednesday), letter writer Deborah Strum [sic] stated that ‘absolutely no partial birth abortion is performed because a woman’s life is in danger.’

“That is a recklessly inaccurate statement.

“The overwhelming number of abortions performed in this country each year is performed within the legally allowed first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Late-term abortions account for eight out of 1,000 abortions. Those eight abortions require the medical determination that they are necessary for the health of the mother before they are performed.

“The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist [sic] deems the procedure a ‘necessary and proper one in certain cases,’ with each case considered individually.

“The Supreme Court decision banning late-term abortions will play havoc with the health of women denied that choice, putting us back to the tragic days of letting the mother die or having her health and future reproductive capability shattered in favor of the life of the fetus.”

[RWC] The Supreme Court did not ban partial birth abortions. Congress did that. The Supreme Court only ruled the ban was constitutional.

Note Ms. De Ferrari can’t even refer to partial birth abortion except to quote Ms. Sturm, preferring to use “late-term” abortion instead.

“With this decision, how much longer before women will be banned from choosing abortion completely? We all wish abortions were never necessary and we should support efforts to help women avoid unplanned and unwanted pregnancies through education at home, in schools and in the media. Those are the kind of efforts we should be spending our time and energy on.”

[RWC] I have two points to note.

In her last letter, Ms. De Ferrari said the majority’s views should be followed. That’s not her position in this letter.

Second, though Ms. De Ferrari threw around a few numbers, note the figures she didn’t provide. The CDC reported there were 848,163 legal abortions performed in the U.S. during 2003. How many of those abortions were “necessary?”