Last week a Daily Beast article by Kirsten Powers generated some excitement in pro-life circles. The article entitled “Busting the Birth Control Myth” makes the case that Planned Parenthood does not deserve funding from the federal government. . . .
However, on Tuesday, Powers issued a retraction. She states that she made a “serious error in reporting this column that undermines the conclusion I drew.” She goes on to say that her argument is “not supported by the data” and that it “invalidates my piece.” . . .
Powers did make a mistake which she was right to both publicly admit and correct. However, this mistake, by itself, does not invalidate her argument. Even though her comments about trends in contraception use were based on erroneous data, she highlighted other research which seriously questions the ability of contraception funding to lower abortion rates. In fact, a look at the existing research on contraception use and abortion rates indicates that Powers’s argument was stronger than she probably realizes. National Review, Jill Stanek
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