The danger of statistics

I've been a volunteer escort for Planned Parenthood for six months now, meaning I spend Saturday mornings escorting clientele through the crowds of protestors to the clinic so they don't have to be alone while being harassed. In that time, I have learned that protestors generally fall into one of two categories - the helpers and the taunters. The helpers are the protestors who walk the women from the edge of the parking lot to the edge of the clinic grounds (as far as they are allowed to go) offering them help (financial and otherwise) to raise their baby should they decide to have it (we'll overlook for the moment the fact that the vast majority of clientele are there for non-abortion related services). The taunters are the ones who try to block the entrance to the clinic while shouting horrible, threatening insults at the women and holding up pictures of aborted fetuses and the like in an effort to scare them away.

In my time there, I have seen one or two women who decided to at least delay their abortion after finding out there were other options. On the other hand, I have never seen a woman scared away from the clinic by the taunters. It is important to point out that the literature the helpers hand to the women as they walk to the clinic is the same literature they are given once inside (Planned Parenthood has always educated its clientele on other options - even before it was a state mandate to do so). However, I support for the most part what this group of protestors is trying to do. They are there to tell women that if they are having an abortion because they think there are no other options - there are. I say 'for the most part' because they do have a habit of using scare tactics in an effort to grab the women's attention (e.g. quoting the medically dismissed link between abortion and breast cancer or listing the inherent dangers of abortion (abortions are statistically safer than childbirth), but I hold them in higher regard than those who have no desire other than to make the women cry. I respect the helpers for what they do - they are there in an effort to help the clientele of Planned Parenthood just as I am.

Because of this inherent respect, I have begun to make friends with some of them and as such, have developed a bit of a reputation as a friendly escort. To this end, some will strike up conversations with me during a lull in arrivals and many fruitful discussions have resulted. I find that in general, the helpers come from the Houston Coalition for Life (a largely Catholic anti-choice group) while the taunters tend to come from an array of Baptist churches around Houston. Now with this in mind, imagine my surprise when one of the leaders of HCL approached me and began scolding me telling me I was 'the worst one out there' because I was educated and intelligent and still supported Planned Parenthood. I listened intently until she asked me a question and the following conversation ensued:

HCL Employee: Did you know that over 80% of women who have had abortions regret having had them?
Nicholas: Where did you get that statistic?
HE: I calculated it myself from interviews.
N: I see - and where did these interviews take place.
HE: At the Houston Coalition for Life headquarters
N: Did you seek these women out?
HE: No - they came to us.
N: So what you are telling me is that over 80% of women who voluntarily approached an anti-choice organization having had an abortion regret that choice?
HE: Exactly.
N: And you feel they represent a statistically neutral sample?
HE: A what?
(pause)
N: May I ask you a question?
HE: Yes.
N: How many classes in statis...you know what, never mind.

In situations like this, my strengths do not lie in educating without patronizing, so I decided to walk away. In all honesty, I don't mind the fact that she thinks she has proof-positive of the dangers of abortion - I mind that she will convince others who won't know to ask the appropriate questions before blindly following her.

Once again - the dangers of statistics on display.