AZ Republic Fact-Checks "94% of Catholic Women Use Contraception"

[Arizona Mike]

Here in the heart of the southwestern wilderness, there is a legal battle over a state bill that would exempt the religious from having to fund contraception. It was voted down, but is being re-written by the sponsor to attempt to address the objections raised against it.

In the course of the debate, State Rep. Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff, said during a House vote that 94 percent of all Catholic families use birth control. (Essentially, the same argument that Nancy Pelosi used: "if everyone does it, it must be okay" - a sentiment that would no doubt come as a surprise to the IRS if applied to cheating on one's taxes.)

The Arizona Republic, which generally has skewed to a liberal editorial position on most issues (their staff cartoonist, Steve Benson, is virulently opposed to most Catholic beliefs), but their "Fact-Check" column examined Chabin's claim and found that, unsurprisingly, it is unsupported:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/electi...ory.php?id=377

Well worth reading.

One of the issues that is not mentioned in the article, or by most reviews of the controversy, is that the Guttmacher Institiute study examined current OR PREVIOUS contraceptive use - thus, it did not account for Catholics who were reverts from Protestantism or non-religious traditions who may have used contraceptives in the past, but did not do so at the time of the survey.

Interestingly, I read this in the metro section of the print edition this morning, but could not find it easily in the on-line edition, which usually has all the articles for the last week. I had to do a key-word search to find it.

[Arizona Mike]

Another critical evaluation by the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...eqIR_blog.html

[Arizona Mike]

Originally Posted by mitex

Of course because any source that isn't supporting the Church and its views is wrong, and blasphemous.

Heck, yeah!

[3DOCTORS]

My response to these surveys:

SO. WHAT.

Wrong is wrong, if everyone jumped off the Empire State Building . . .

[converting2024]

The AZ Repugnant is more like it. Church bashing to the core. Notice how they allow comments for negative articles about the Catholic Church but not the Mormon "Church?"

[Trishie]

The survey claim has been debunked

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...eqIR_blog.html

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obam...have-never-had

[Lost_Sheep]

No matter how many Catholic women use ABC, whether it is 9.4% or 94%, the point is irrelevant. ABC is contrary to Catholic doctrine. The politicians seem to think that since 98% of women use it, doctrine is a moot point.

Suppose the Administration came out with a directive saying "The American Pork industry is floundering, so we are requiring that every American household must eat pork at least once a week." How do you suppose that would go over with Jews? Never mind that many Jews don't follow that rule anyway.

The Obama Administration cannot seem to differentiate between a church's teaching and the actions of it congregations. That where the Administration falls down.

My 2 cents.