At this point in the book, Page begins to outline what is wrong with the very root of the pro-life movement. However, she first brings up the point that past bans on abortion have not resulted in actually curbing abortion rates. Instead, the abortions were performed illegally. She writes, "To begin with, criminalizing abortion may be a sacred pro-life goal. But in practice, bans have failed to curb the rates of abortions. Many countries that have outlawed abortion have higher abortion rates than countries where abortion is legal"(57-58). I found this evidence to be very interesting. I know the argument of banning abortions leading to more unsafe, "coat hanger" abortions has been used time and again by pro-choice advocates in defense of keeping abortion legal. I think the evidence that Page presents adds another dimension to this argument by showing that not only could outlawing abortion logically lead to an increase in dangerous abortions, but also simply an increase in abortions overall. With this point, Page made me realize how counterproductive some pro-life ideals truly are.
Page continues on to unearth the root of the abortion debate: both sides' approach to sex and sex education. While I understand that some of Page's assertions may be spun to best support her argument and therefore are not a precise representation of the reality of the issue, her words are generally based in fact and are generally truthful. For example, Page gives the impression that all pro-lifers are devoutly religious and believe in abstinence-only programs. While I am sure this is true for a significant portion of pro-life advocates, I myself know of many people who are against abortion yet are not particularly religious or believe in only educating young people by teaching abstinence only. Page points out the major flaws in teaching children and teenagers that abstinence is the only way to prevent unplanned pregnancies. She does this when she says, "Abstinence-only programs offer the worst of both worlds: kids are not convinced about chastity, yet are completely uninformed about protection, which the programs refuse to teach" (67-68). Once again, Page reveals how counterproductive some pro-life ideals are. How are teenagers-- and Page offers a statistic that reveals half of all 15 to 19 year olds are sexually active-- expected to avoid unintended pregnancies, and therefore the dilemma of a potential abortion, if they are not sufficiently educated on various ways to prevent pregnancy? To me, it seems like it would benefit pro-lifers, if their real aim is to eradicate abortion, to embrace the concept of birth control.
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