Hubris Rushes In:

Now that Republican lawmakers have passed their anti-health-care measure in the the U.S. House of Representatives, conservative legislatures and governors around the country are feeling their oats. They know they can do nothing about the economy, the real reason they've won sweeping elections, so they are turning to that old social war-horse: abortions.

Erick Eckholm reports on the status of the anti-women's movement as it plays out in many state capitols around the nation in today's New York Times. The anti-abortion movement plays on superstition, fear, bigotry, and ignorance to blind the electorate to the ineptitude of governing officials to take serious action to improve the flailing economy while at the same time further fostering the right-wing's class warfare program.

Abortion, Legal and Otherwise:

Today's New York Times reports on a collaborative study between scientists from the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute, indicating that the legality of abortion has little effect world-wide on whether women choose to have abortions or not. The big difference appears to be that in countries where the procedure is legal women seem to have a much better chance of surviving the procedure.

In addition, the report indicates that in countries where contraception is widely available the rate of abortions is dramatically lower.