And more idiocy from Miranda Devine
Feb. 16th, 2006 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lederhosenMiranda Devine's latest column discusses the issue of whether men should be involved in the current debate over the Health Minister's drug-approval powers*. For the record, I agree with her that they should be and disagree with her conclusion on those powers, but that's not the bit that annoyed me. This was:
In any case, there is no single female view on abortion. Opinion polls show views on the issue are not split on gender lines. And, despite the hype about a gender divide in the Senate last week, about the same number of men (21) and women (24) voted in favour of removing Abbott's authority.
Those numbers would be convincing if there actually were an equal number of men and women in the Senate, but of course, there aren't. NY Times description of the exact same vote:
The 45-28 Senate vote reflected gender politics, with 24 of the 76-member Senate's 27 women - from five parties, from the left to the right - supporting the bill. Among men, 25 voted against the bill, 21 voted for it and 3 abstained.
Put another way: 89% of female senators voted for the bill, but only 43% of male senators (46% if you exclude the abstainers).
Put another way: about 50% of its supporters were male, but 90% of its opponents. Despite Devine's attempted spin, that seems like a significant disparity to me.
*Quick background for non-Australians: the question is whether approval for abortion drugs should be in the hands of the Health Minister, who is an elected representative but not a medical professional, or the Therapeutic Goods Administration, an unelected body of medical professionals that handles all other pharmaceutical approval. The TGA is more likely to approve RU-486 than the current Health Minister, so the vote to remove that authority from the Health Minister is widely seen as a pro-abortion decision.
Me, I think "on moral grounds, should abortion be legal in this country?" is a question for our elected representatives. But "while abortion is legal, should this one specific drug be allowed?" is more a medical decision than a moral one, and should be handled by medical professionals. This vote is on the latter question, not the former.
In any case, there is no single female view on abortion. Opinion polls show views on the issue are not split on gender lines. And, despite the hype about a gender divide in the Senate last week, about the same number of men (21) and women (24) voted in favour of removing Abbott's authority.
Those numbers would be convincing if there actually were an equal number of men and women in the Senate, but of course, there aren't. NY Times description of the exact same vote:
The 45-28 Senate vote reflected gender politics, with 24 of the 76-member Senate's 27 women - from five parties, from the left to the right - supporting the bill. Among men, 25 voted against the bill, 21 voted for it and 3 abstained.
Put another way: 89% of female senators voted for the bill, but only 43% of male senators (46% if you exclude the abstainers).
Put another way: about 50% of its supporters were male, but 90% of its opponents. Despite Devine's attempted spin, that seems like a significant disparity to me.
*Quick background for non-Australians: the question is whether approval for abortion drugs should be in the hands of the Health Minister, who is an elected representative but not a medical professional, or the Therapeutic Goods Administration, an unelected body of medical professionals that handles all other pharmaceutical approval. The TGA is more likely to approve RU-486 than the current Health Minister, so the vote to remove that authority from the Health Minister is widely seen as a pro-abortion decision.
Me, I think "on moral grounds, should abortion be legal in this country?" is a question for our elected representatives. But "while abortion is legal, should this one specific drug be allowed?" is more a medical decision than a moral one, and should be handled by medical professionals. This vote is on the latter question, not the former.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 04:04 pm (UTC)*shake head*
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 04:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-17 01:41 am (UTC)