I hate to burst their bubble, but I know a little about Roe and Doe, and the answers to a couple of the questions are not, strictly speaking, what Roe and Doe say. The answers that the test gives to those questions may grow out of the progeny of Roe and Doe, but the express wording of those two cases does not support the answers given by the test.
Bender | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 2:09 am | #

I've never been to your lovely nation, or studied American law, and I managed 10 out of 12. Most of it was pretty basic as long as you know that Roe v Wade simply said, as I understand it, abortion is a private matter. Obviously it's not going to go into how late an abortion is allowed or for what reasons. I missed the SC Justice quote and the no. of abortions since 73.

You can easily tell the quiz is pushing one side of the debate, even before the last page that links to only Christian pro-life websites.

Q. 9 Is a good tip off. 'Which of our nation's founding documents contains the phrase "right to an abortion"?

And Q. 10 (Which Supreme Court Justice said the following about Roe: "Roe v. Wade ... ventured too far in the change it ordered and presented an inadequate justification for its action.") is only worth asking if a liberal judge says it.

If you seek to convert/convince Dawn you should try linking to less partisan websites.
Australian Atheist | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 4:58 am | #

Let's have a "partisan" parade!

http://abort73.com/

http://www.prolifeaction.org/index.php

http://www.rockforlife.org/index.php

I should put up some anti-chattel slavery sites...oh wait...we managed to pull our heads out of our butts on that one.
Scott W. | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 7:40 am | #

Australian Atheist said: If you seek to convert/convince Dawn you should try linking to less partisan websites.

Wow - coming from one who's so partisan himself, that's grand advice.

Your understanding of Roe (and I venture abortion as well) is partisan, so you're simply asking Dawn to dilute her efforts - how about you going first?

Dawn at least understands the Rock she's standing on - which is more than I can say for the religion of atheistic materialism, atheistic secular humanism, or the multitude of religiostic atheists.

She's not claiming omniscience, like others we know. ;-)
Chris Arsenault | 12.08.07 - 10:45 am | #

I scored only 7 out of 12.

The point of this site is to show us that we've been misinformed. A lot of partisans have assured us about what the Court rulings said... but it's mostly spin on what they wanted it to say.
Del | 12.08.07 - 10:56 am | #

I got 10 out of 12. I missed the ones regarding the total number of abortions and the Supreme Court justice quote.
Susan B. | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 11:26 am | #

I also missed the Supreme court justice quote. I guess I'm in good company.
Maureen | 12.08.07 - 12:06 pm | #

12/12

But there is a major dose of polemics stirred in there.

Just the facts, ma'am. We could put in something about the father's say, or fetal development, or informed consent.
Lisa | 12.08.07 - 1:00 pm | #

Whoever wrote this quiz, asking about what Roe "allows" and "requires" is being purposely disingenuous, and seems to be counting on some people's ignorance of the difference between a precedent-setting court case and a piece of legislation.
Lisa | 12.08.07 - 1:13 pm | #

I found the concept on which a lot of the questions were based to be very weird. Roe doesn't say that only doctors can do abortions, because Roe doesn't address that issue. Likewise restrictions to abortions in any form (I.e. it leaves open large areas for state law to decide), parental notification, etc. etc.. It seems to be strongly implying that it's some defect in Roe that it doesn't address these things. Which is rather like complaining that the automobile safety regulations don't specifiy seat-belt law.
Tapetum | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 2:04 pm | #

Roe doesn't say that only doctors can do abortions, because Roe doesn't address that issue.

Case in point, re: my prior comment. Roe does address that issue. -- "The State may define the term "physician," as it has been employed in the preceding paragraphs of this Part XI of this opinion, to mean only a physician currently licensed by the State, and may proscribe any abortion by a person who is not a physician as so defined." 410 U.S. 113, 165 (1973). The companion case Doe does not say anything to contradict that.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/ supct...10_0113_ZO.html

Indeed, Roe has been criticized because the main concern of Blackmun (who was previously counsel to the Mayo Clinic) was on the right of the physician to practice medicine as he saw fit, with the right of women to choose abortion being secondary.

What neither Roe nor Doe address is sex-selection, so to ask if Roe "allowed" such abortions or not is misleading -- Roe neither allowed them nor disallowed them.

I know these folks are trying to educate the people, but it really does not help when they are not 100 percent accurate and straightforward themselves.
Bender | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 5:27 pm | #

I missed the one on the number of abortions. As for the "approximate" count attributed to CDC -- as Captain Kirk said in "Errand of Mercy", "That's a pretty close approximation, Mr. Spock."

Are the pro-aborts who harp on "What about rapeandincest?" "non-partisan", since it is "partisan" to point out how much of a factor this is in the real world?
Will | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 6:26 pm | #

"...and seems to be counting on some people's ignorance of the difference between a precedent-setting court case and a piece of legislation."

A lot of us think the nine old men (they WERE all men, in case you have forgotten) committed the same confusion.
Will | Homepage | 12.08.07 - 6:37 pm | #

I know these folks are trying to educate the people, but it really does not help when they are not 100 percent accurate and straightforward themselves.

The most accurate -- in terms of motives -- and most graciously worded assessment of the quiz, in my opinion. Thanks, Bender.
Terezia | 12.08.07 - 9:50 pm | #

"What neither Roe nor Doe address is sex-selection, so to ask if Roe "allowed" such abortions or not is misleading -- Roe neither allowed them nor disallowed them."

Of course it allows sex selection abortions because a woman, because of Roe/Doe may have an abortion for any reason at any time.

One of the purposes of the survey, in my estimation, is to EXPOSE just how diabolical these judicial diktats really are. Most people just don't know the truth, so this is a useful tool to at least get a more open discussion going.

You may be able to quibble with chosen wording, you may be able to make the "partisan" charge (without making the same charge when the pro-abortion crowd raises the issue), but nothing in the quiz is factually inaccurate. Nothing.
Chet Lemon | 12.10.07 - 6:50 pm | #