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  • 2014-10-29 (xsd:date)
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  • More College Students Support Post-Birth Abortion? (en)
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  • On 29 October 2014, conservative college blog The College Fix posted an article claiming anecdotal evidence of a trend seen by pro-life activists indicated a growing number of college students support what the site dubbed post-birth abortion: Example: [Collected via Twitter, October 2014] The article veered immediately into friend of a friend territory, citing word-of-mouth claims made by anti-abortion activists who frequently demonstrate on campuses. The claims were quickly picked up by other blogs; and in the course of their travels the anecdotes morphed into the results of a study about a worrisome moral decay on campuses nationwide. The article stated: The article lacks a number of key credibility markers. Among crucial corroborating information missing is on which campuses purported polling might have occurred, the number of respondents espousing this shocking viewpoint, the number of college students polled, what specifically constitutes regularly, and the most crucially relevant portion: what specific language was used to extract this specific admission from college students asked about their support of abortion or reproductive law? Harrington himself pointed to a single individual as evidence of this alarming trend favoring infanticide, and the claim relied solely on his assertion such a conversation occurred: Even if Harrington did speak with one young man at one campus who believed children up to the age of five were not persons, there is no evidence of any large-scale support for similar beliefs. The site also quotes anti-abortion activist Kristina Garza, who similarly claims a common [age] going around is 4 years old in this purported new trend of post-birth abortion support. Garza points to 35 year old literature as the culprit inspiring college kids to embrace the philosophy: Garza did not elaborate on why a philosophy more than three decades old would suddenly be sweeping college campuses. The article's claims echo a 2013 media kerfuffle over students at George Mason University signing a petition to legalize fourth trimester abortion. Pregnancy consists of three trimesters, with the bulk of abortions occurring in the first trimester. The controversy that ensued appeared to stem from intended confusion among those polled about the fictional fourth trimester, and did not actually indicate widespread support for infanticide: While the 2013 fourth trimester abortion controversy stemmed from a deliberately misleading set of questions designed to make a political point, the article from 29 October 2014 is even less credible. No evidence is presented to support the claim that college students favor post-birth abortions, and no public opinion polls reflect the increase of such a sentiment. (en)
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