Fun With Statistics

Jessica Valenti's upset about an HHS website that's been altered to inform readers that "Abortions can have complications. There may be emotional consequences, as well: some women say that they feel sad and some use more alcohol or drugs than before."

The real genius of this bit of trickery is that it is, of course, true. Given that a reasonable large number of abortions are performed each year, it would be astounding if "some" women didn't "use more alcohol or drugs" after their abortion than before it. Conversely, I'm willing to venture that "some" women use less. You could probably make this claim to come out however you want to. "Some" women who've had abortions become thieves, "some" get run over by buses, etc.

Photo by Flickr user Alcest99 used under a Creative Commons license