CO-GOV: "Rape or incest, and pregnancies resulting from, are relatively few"

[angka]

Colorado's GOP gubernatorial nominee went full-on Todd Akin before Akin was a thing.

http://coloradopols.com/diary/63050/in-case-you-dont-think-beauprezs-abortion-stance-is-important

I wrote last week about gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez’s comment, unchallenged by reporters, that he believes a governor has “very limited impact” on a woman’s right to choose–even though he told Colorado Public Radio back in 2006 that he’d sign a bill outlawing abortion, if such a bill landed on his desk.

If you’re a reporter, and you’re inclined to sluff this off, because Beauprez isn’t thumping his chest about banning abortion nowadays, you need to know more of what he said during that interview with CPR’s Ryan Warner back in 2006...

WARNER: Let me give you what is admittedly an extreme hypothetical. A sixteen-year-old girl is raped. She and her parents want to get an abortion for her. They would pay for it, it wouldn’t be state dollars. You would support a law preventing her from getting an abortion under those circumstances?

BEAUPREZ: Yes, and I’ll tell you very simply why.

WARNER: Please.

BEAUPREZ: I don’t think it’s the child’s fault. And I think we either protect life — all life, especially the most innocent of life — or we don’t. The situations of rape or incest, and pregnancies resulting from, are relatively few. And I think, unfortunately, what we have done, sometimes, is use rather what we think of as extreme exceptions, to justify a carte blanche abortion policy that has resulted in– well in excess, as I understand it, of a million abortions a year in our nation. Tragically, I think, in some of our ethnic communities we’re seeing very, very high percentages of babies, children, pregnancies, end in abortion. And I think it’s time that we have an out in the open discussion about what that means.

WARNER: Do you know which ethnic communities, in particular?

BEAUPREZ: I’ve seen numbers as high as 70% –maybe even more– in the African American community, that I think is just appalling. And I’m not saying that it’s appalling on them. I’m saying it’s appalling that something is happening to encourage that. Frankly, it raises another question, you know? Do we think it is okay that that many African American babies aren’t allowed to be born and live an otherwise normal life and reach the blessings, the fullness of the American Dream. I think those are very serious, very intense, very personal questions that a society such as ours ought to ponder.

[unblock]

1. the more i hear crap like this, the more i think people like him dost protest too much.

(edited to clarify)

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Hey Beauprez! Let me rephrase the question ...

WARNER: Let me give you what is admittedly an extreme hypothetical. A YOUR sixteen-year-old girl gets pregnant by some Black guy. She and her parents want to get an abortion for her. They would pay for it, it wouldn’t be state dollars.(as unnecessary) You would support a law preventing her from getting an abortion under those circumstances?

And, another thing ...

WARNER: Do you know which ethnic communities, in particular?

BEAUPREZ: I’ve seen numbers as high as 70% –maybe even more– in the African American community, that I think is just appalling.

You have that exactly backwards for Colorado (and most of the states in America):

Location White Black Other Total

United States 52% 41% 8% 96%1
...

Colorado 72% 8% 20% 96%

http://kff.org/womens-health-policy/state-indicator/abortions-by-race/

And didn't Bob Beauprez just announce that he supports seizing all Federal lands in Colorado to do as the legislature sees fit (read: privatization)?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

3. aww, he's lying. a lying GOPer, that's something new.

Also, very sadly, I've met black folks who have been sold that gop lie about abortion and the Black Community. They think Planned Parenthood is trying to wipe them out.
And they actually believe republicans when they claim they're "concerned" for the "safety" of the Black Community? Really? That sounds about as real a concern as the reich wing christian concern for the Jewish Community.

[Thor_MN]

4. I'm not looking to disagree with you, but...

The stat that the slimeball candidate suggested was that "70%, maybe even more" (of pregnancies ) "in the African American community" end in abortion. Which is obviously complete, total, utter bullshit.

The stat that you cited however, does not appear to correspond to that. It says that 72% of all abortions in Colorado were obtained by white women. It doesn't speak towards the percentage of pregnancies ended by abortion.

You are totally correct that the guy is an asshole, but the stats you cited are not relevant to what he said...

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. Now that I think about it ...

you are correct.

I'll have to find better data.

ETA: After a quick search, I couldn't find recent (later than 2008) data ... and the data found was entitled: "Black genocide" but did not link to, or even much the name of the study from which its data was pulled.

[Thor_MN]

7. Personally, I had to read it several times to be sure he made the insane comment

that he did. When someone claims that 70% or more of pregnancies end in abortion in any group, it's a WTF?!?! moment..

[Princess Turandot]

6. A quick estimate for you...

of Colorado's abortion rates for whites and blacks. Data is from the Kaiser health stats listed as 2010:

Legal abortions 11,210 http://kff.org/womens-health-policy/state-indicator/number-of-abortions/
Abortions by race (%): 72% white 8% black http://kff.org/womens-health-policy/state-indicator/abortions-by-race/
Estimated abortions by race by number: 8,071 white 897 black http://kff.org/womens-health-policy/state-indicator/number-of-abortions/

Add to:
Live births: 40,164 white 3,201 black http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/births-by-raceethnicity/
Est. Total Pregnancies either delivered or aborted: 48,235 white 4,098 black

Abortion rate (Estimated Abortions/Estimated Pregnancies): 23% white 21% black

This is a rough estimate (assuming no arithmetic errors) which could be influenced by some differences in how the numbers are presented. Live births by race, for example, have a more detailed breakout but I only used the non-hispanic whites and blacks numbers. So, caveat emptor. Also, I didn't do a nationwide estimate because Kaiser does not provide that number for abortions, apparently because they don't have the CA numbers.

hth

[sendero]

8. So are murders..

..I guess prosecuting them is a waste of time.