Opinion - FiveThirtyEight, a website founded by Nate Silver and primarily focused on data journalism, has recently caused quite the stir on Twitter. The day after Christmas they tweeted about an article they had released entitled, “Do You Have an Abortion Story? We Want to Hear From You.” Needless to say, they have received hundreds of replies but not the kind they were seeking nor expecting. FiveThirtyEight is often given a center bias rating but since being in partnership with The New York Times for three years, they have often been perceived as having a left-leaning bias; hence this article implicitly promotes an altar on which leftists will die – abortion.
The responses they were looking for were not ones about the tragedies of abortion and the celebration of life but rather ones that highlighted the importance of abortion and its positive effects on people’s lives. FiveThirtyEight and countless others have chosen to ignore not only the fact that abortion has taken the lives of millions of innocent babies but has also physically and mentally harmed mothers and fathers. One response to the Twitter post states, “My mother was forced to have an abortion at age 15. It left lasting physical and emotional damage. Because of it, I was born over 10 weeks early and nearly didn't survive. My brother was also nearly born that early. She was told she was unable to have more children after that.” This mother is not the only one whose fertility was affected by her abortions. According to nebraskafamilyalliance.org, at least 127 peer-reviewed studies have reported a link between abortion and premature delivery. These studies concluded that women are twice as likely to have premature delivery in pregnancies after an abortion. In addition, abortion increases the risk of miscarriage by 60% which often leads to infertility.
There are also responses from mothers and fathers who were told their child would have a physical disability and should therefore be aborted. One mother shared, “We were told that my firstborn had a 1 in 10 chance of being born with Down's Syndrome. Her dad wanted me to abort immediately. I refused. She has Asperger's. She's a gifted writer & poet and has a talent for identifying character traits in people. She can honestly describe.” This mother’s story is also all too common. And what is even more tragic is that these abortions occur in the second and third trimester since most abnormalities aren’t detected until midway through pregnancy. This only increases the risk of complications. There are also responses from women who were falsely told that their child would have a disability. A lady related this about her pregnancy, “At the ultrasound for my 2nd pregnancy we were told our baby had Down Syndrome and her heart was incompatible with life. They encouraged us to end the pregnancy. She's completely healthy.”
Some individuals even pointed out the ironic timing of this article, a day after Christmas, which is a time when many are celebrating the unplanned pregnancy of the Savior Christ.
I believe the many responses given to this Tweet are a picture of the growing and emboldening pro-life crowd. Many people across the religious and political spectrum are becoming weary of the pro-abortion rallying cries, including millennials and Gen Z. As society continues to celebrate and idolize abortion, I believe more and more stories such as these will be brought to light and more men and women will be encouraged to share their stories of life and hope.
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