Half the abortion rate

That’s a quote from NARAL (“National Abortion Rights Action League” ), in a report on the effects of the Hyde Amendment (a pdf document). The Hyde Amendment restricts federal funding of abortions, including those for women who are eligible for prenatal care funding by Medicaid. NARAL urges us to examine the record of John McCain and Sarah Palin on abortion and “reproductive health.” (The numbers are actually 18%-35% of women, according to this report on line at the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), the research and education arm of Planned Parenthood.)

Cutting the abortion rate in half is a good thing, and a benefit of the Hyde Amendment.

It will be interesting to watch the response to a National Review article, “Unholy Messaging,” by Douglas Johnson, who does just that for Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, while pointing out the bias of the New York Times editors.

The focus of the article is three specific points denied in the editorial:

. . . (free one time registration)on September 21, titled “Right to Smear.” The editorial expressed the hope that the federal courts and the Federal Election Commission would prevent a group called The Real Truth About Obama, Inc., from disseminating an ad that, the Times said, “trashes the candidate’s nuanced position [on abortion]. It even employs an Obama-like voice pledging to make taxpayers pay for abortions, help minors conceal abortions from their parents, and legalize late-term abortions.”

Mr. Johnson documents the truth, one by one, of what the NYT calls “these lies.”