The Same Shit Again, Only This One Might Make Me Angrier
“Two More Women Die from Abortion Pill” says the headline on Comcast’s homepage.
Two more women? Wow, how many thousands have died that I didn’t know about? I’d better read the article!
Oh, okay… “at least” seven women have died since it became available in the U.S. six years ago. Four of those died from sepsis after taking a pill vaginally that was meant to be swallowed, probably on the recommendation of their doctors. The two most recent had similar symptoms to those four, although their causes of death have not been officially determined. The seventh died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy; RU-486 is not meant to be used with ectopic pregancies.
Notable fact: “The Food and Drug Administration cannot prove the drug was to blame in any of the cases.”
So let’s play the Actual Headline Game once more. I’m thinking something like, “7 Women Die in Six Years Following Bad Advice from Docs.”
But that doesn’t sound like a story! Whereas this… doesn’t either, if you actually fucking read anything but the headline.
Do you suppose I can get hypnotized to stop caring about this shit?
No, I don’t.
What’s really fucking irritating is that headline isn’t even a _fudge_ of the truth. I liked the days when journalists (and the editors who write their heds and deks) at least pretended to care about the truth. Maybe the drug maker will sue and get a nice, fat out-of-court settlement which they will promptly drop off at their local Planned Parenthood.
Would that be too much to ask?