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Bigotry is the state of mind of a bigot, defined by Merriam-Webster as "a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance". Bigotry may be based on real or perceived characteristics, including age, disability, dissension from popular opinions, economic status, ethnicity, gender identity,language, nationality, political alignment, race, region, religious or spiritual belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Bigotry is sometimes developed into an ideology or world view. 



So as I sit here, skimming Twitter and the news (thereby avoiding the task of writing a research paper), I sigh and sigh. As the presidential election creeps closer, it seems the attacks grow more vicious, the rhetoric more misleading and childish, the desperation for campaign contributions more feverish. The heated vitriol among the most loyal supporters has always been there, but now it spreads through everything like a virus, infecting even those who had been more moderate and tolerant in their opinions and commentary.



 
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" Providing birth control to women at no cost substantially reduced unplanned pregnancies and cut abortion rates by a range of 62-78 percent compared to the national rate, a new study shows" (3)

There are several things misleading about this statement. First of all, it neglects to mention who the participants of the study were, the study's objective, and the study's limitations. 

I am no statistician, but I read through the report numerous times and felt as though the statistics were misleading. I could not understand how this study has applications to the entire US population, especially when I reviewed the methods of the study. There are too many factors to account for such as education, income level, state laws regarding abortion and access to it, and, unfortunately, ethnicity. Another question I did not have an answer to was if the study accounts for those who dropped out or did not follow-up, which can skew results.

I am not against access to contraception. As a matter of fact, I strongly support education about it. But I believe that with having sex and using contraception comes personal responsibility- none of which is being advocated for in the ACA. In addition, I am shocked by the push to get women free contraception without any discussion of STD's and STD prevention (which we all know IUD and Deprovera will not prevent). I am fairly certain that I have read that certain STD's are on the increase, but perhaps that information was based on misleading representation of study results as well.


ANYWAYS...here are my observations from reading the ACTUAL study (1)....




    Me

    Who am I? Just an average woman living an average life. There are many labels I would use to define myself: mom, wife, daughter, student, educator, American, etc. I have no professional experience nor am I claiming to be a writer. Sometimes I am brushing up on some skills I will need when I return to academia, and sometimes I am just sharing or venting.  



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