I love things in science and health that are counterintuitive. For example, my granddaughter has ADHD, and when she drinks a caffeinated beverage, it actually calms her down and lets her think clearly and improves her attention. She can down an energy drink in the evening and still sleep in just a few hours.
Eating peanuts at a young age reduces the risk of a peanut allergy. Two objects of different mass fall at the same rate, or in some cases the heavy object will fall slower: A bowling ball will fall slightly slower that a golf ball due to the higher surface area and thus more drag.
The Global Gag Rule (officially known as the Mexico City Policy) is a U.S. government policy that blocks foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving U.S. global health assistance if they provide, refer, counsel, or advocate for legal abortion services—even using their own non-U.S. funds. Counterintuitively, when the gag rule is in place (during republican presidencies) the rate of abortions raise in the countries affected. During democratic presidencies, who always rescind the gag rule, it goes down.
When Row v Wade was overturned (Dobbs decision), abortions in the United States went up 11%, after 30 years of steady decline. You can click on the link above to read all the reason this may be happening. But the bottom line is that when abortions are restricted, they go up. A lot of the data shows that when abortion is restricted, the places that provide them (Planned Parenthood) close down, so that other services like family planning is removed, thus increasing unplanned pregnancies.
Wouldn’t it be great if the LDS Church had a leader that could “see around corners”, recognize (receive revelation?) that a blanket ban on abortion is actually “counterintuitive”, and promote abortion rules that are actually in keeping with their own rules? (Abortion may be considered if the pregnancy involves rape or incest, a serious threat to the mother’s life or health, or severe fetal abnormalities incompatible with life past birth.)
Ectopic pregnancy deaths have nearly doubled between 2020 and 2025 compared to the previous six years, with the sharpest increases occurring in states with strict abortion restrictions. This includes Idaho, where the Church is on record to keep Idaho with one of the strictest abortion rules in the nation (even more strict than their own rules), thus insuring that more women will die. All life is sacred?
What are some of your favorite counterintuitive facts?
Did you know about Dobbs increasing abortions in the US?
Your thoughts?
