Opinion

Abortion numbers don't compute

Posted June 30, 2019 1:00 am

I am reading an advertisement in my suburban newspaper, the June 23 Daily Herald, which is attributed to Catholics for Choice. In the statement, you refer to Illinois lawmakers as not bowing to bullies, but "Instead, they stand with the 3.5 million Illinois Catholics who believe abortion should remain legal."

The data that I am able to find on population statistics in Illinois does not support the 3.5 million figure you offered.

1. The 2018 population of Illinois: 12,740,000

2. The percent of

adults in Illinois who are Catholic: 28%

3. The number of adults

in Illinois: 9,895,000

4. Thus the number of adult Catholics in Illinois would be around 2,770,000

Now, I can arrive at your 3.5 million number by assuming that 28% of the total Illinois population, not just adults, are Catholic. Further, that each and every one of them support your view, including the children who, by the way, were fortunately able to give their opinion because they were not aborted.

Are you seriously asking the readers of your ad to believe that each and every Catholic in Illinois agrees with you? Sadly, I suspect you are.

But, being open-minded, I am willing to review your data sources if you would kindly offer them. And for the record, I am Catholic and I am pro-life, and that is my choice.

Tim Floyd

Bartlett

Article Comments

Article Categories
Letters to the Editor Opinion

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.