That's why the "there will always be abortions so we might as well make them safe and legal" argument in favor of legalized abortion on demand has never impressed me.
I wasn't arguing that. I wasn't arguing either side of the abortion issue. Once again, I was simply reframing the issue.
The "pro-life" crowd would argue, with some merit, that every abortion prevented is a life saved.
With some merit, yes. Most prevented abortions save the life of an incipient baby, assuming it's healthy enough to survive. Many/most would have some collateral damage including the possible death of a woman. There's no way to know the net difference. I don't presume to know how many pro-lifers think making abortion illegal would really stop abortions. I expect most figure the innocent fetuses saved outweigh the health impact, including possible death, of the women, the strain on the justice system, etc. I can understand that.
Just like if the pacifist crowd thinks it will eliminate war, it's dreaming.
I noticed you didn't include the war on drugs in your list of examples. I think that making abortions illegal would result is something more like drugs than war, civil rights, domestic violence, etc. Women will get their abortions just like people now find a way to get drugs and just like they find a way to get the money for drugs. There might be floating abortion facilities that operate much like raves do now. Maybe organized crime will fill the void. Who knows? I expect the collateral damage will be much greater than the most pragmatic among the pro-lifers think. I'd rather we learn something from the war on drugs.
Karen |
