Eyes wide shut

In this week of mourning for 39 years of Roe v. Wade, blind-story-of-the-week prize goes to Reuters for the account on Monday well-summarized by its headline: "Abortion safer than giving birth."

The story noted:

"Dr. Elizabeth Raymond from Gynuity Health Projects in New York City and Dr. David Grimes of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, found that between 1998 and 2005, one woman died during childbirth for every 11,000 or so babies born. That compared to one woman of every 167,000 who died from a legal abortion."

Are we missing something here? Didn't those abortions have a death toll of 167,001? Why doesn't Reuters ask the question, "Safer for whom?"

Incidentally, the study co-investigator, David Grimes, is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a new North Carolina law that requires abortion providers to show each potential abortion co-victim an ultrasound of their unborn child, and describe the image 24 hours before performing an abortion.

This week has also been the anniversary of another blind story. Wednesday made it one year since the first day of unrest in Egypt. U.S. television networks cheered as demonstrators spoke out for democracy and risked their lives.

One year later, we see that elections without an understanding of liberty have predictably created an opportunity for one more Islamist totalitarian state.