Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site grkermit.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!security!genrad!grkermit!chris
From: chris@grkermit.UUCP (Chris Hibbert)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Birth control and education
Message-ID: <524@grkermit.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Jul-83 13:08:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: grkermit.524
Posted: Wed Jul 27 13:08:50 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Jul-83 23:19:14 EDT
References: ihlpf.174, <5590@unc.UUCP> <1171@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: GenRad Inc., Concord, MA
Lines: 21

In attacking unc!tim's statement supporting sex education, Liz Allen
(umcp-cs!liz) said:

	Notice also that the incidence of teenage pregnancies has greatly
	increased, not decreased in recent years as there has been more 
	emphasis on sex education.

I'm fairly certain she wouldn't be happy with the following paraphrase of
her statement with all the logical force of the original:

	Notice also that there has been more emphasis on sex education in recent
	years as the incidence of teenage pregnancies has greatly increased.

My point is that she is using one of the fallacies of logical argument.  (Of
course I've forgotten the technical term for it.)  In order for the argument
to hold water, she must show that causality holds in some desired direction,
and that the two changes pointed to didn't merely take place over the same
span of time.  

I personally don't believe that the two are unrelated, but I wouldn't want
to try to prove that either of the two trends caused the other.