New York Times: Botched Care at Planned Parenthood (PP)
On February 15, this major newspaper offered the results of extensive interviews with over 50 PP staff members around the U.S., along with other documentation:
Phrasing showed a pro-PP bias, as one would expect of this newspaper. But that makes the negative information all the more credible.
For more comprehensive documentation, this constantly-updated website covers problems for each of the 549 PP* locations:
We also have a project website matching each location with nearby Community Health Centers and other suitable alternatives:
Maternal Mortality is Way Down!
In the month after Dobbs we posted Post-Roe Stats: the Natural Experiment, posing some specific questions to study as time unfolded. A “natural experiment” means no experiment was designed but nevertheless the needed features are there. We can collect data and analyze it like an experiment. We can, for instance, compare a year when there were no bans to a year soon after when there were.
While it will take more time to look at the other questions, we now have an answer on Question 2: maternal mortality.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, it’s not only down, but down substantially – by 17% (22.3 per 100,000 live births in 2022 down to 18.6 in 2023).
Since there are many other things going on, we can’t assume the bans helped with that without further study. But what we do know clearly, contrary to abortion advocates’ claims, is that the bans have clearly not had a detrimental impact on maternal mortality.
Oscar-Nominated Short Documentaries
Of the five nominations, three are of special interest to consistent-lifers:
“I am Ready, Warden” covers the execution of Ramiro Gonzalez, whose case we had a blog post on. The film interviews him, his family and friends, the family of the murder victim, and a prosecutor. It’s streaming on Paramount Plus.
Death By Numbers covers the jury hearing in the Parkland mass shooting case to decide whether the shooter would be executed or get life without parole. It connects his actions to forms of socially-approved mass violence. It shows the resilience and empowerment of survivors.
Incident shows the tapes, often in split screen, before and after a police killing of a Black man in Chicago in 2018. This shows the reality behind a clear lethal effect of racism.
The Latest on the Podcast
The Latest on the Blog
On the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, John Whitehead offers thoughts on Seeking an End to a Catastrophic War: The Ukraine War after Three Years
Sarah Terzo focuses on the crucial role of U.S. government food assistance in Preborn Babies, Infants, and Government Programs. Both food stamps (SNAP) and Medicaid have the potential for severe cuts in the blueprint of the current House budget resolution. U.S. readers, you can contact your Representatives and Senators to oppose cuts to benefits.
Quote of the Week
Leah Libresco Sargeant, Matthew Loftus, Kristin M. Collier, and Kathryn Jean Lopez
The New York Times, February 10, 2025
Note: PEPFAR is a program for treatment and prevention of HIV-AIDS
We think PEPFAR should be a special priority of the pro-life movement. Its treatments empower mothers to protect their unborn children and provide hope that the births of these children will be moments of joy, not despair. It’s the same kind of hope we’ve tried to give mothers when we’ve stood outside abortion clinics to offer alternatives, or counseled women through high-risk pregnancies.
*CORRECTION: We have corrected this number, which was incorrectly counted in our initial post.
