People will just go to Mexico or some back alley and get unsafe abortions. It will not stop abortions, it will just fill up jails with those who get caught. I remember when they were illegal in Texas and girls went over the border to New Mexico to get them. Teenagers are more scared of telling their parents they are pregnant than the thought of a murder conviction. But lets ignore reality.
First of all, I, personally, do not support imprisonment for abortion, or virtually anything other than solely to keep the public safe from someone who is likely to reoffend*. I support the death penalty for murder if the evidence is clear-cut. While this is unlikely to happen to anyone after abortion is made illegal, there are tons of abortion doctors in this country who have already admitted to what they do, and clearly under no threat of duress. If I became dictator tomorrow** I'd have them all tried and executed.
If the evidence is less clear cut, but still enough to get a conviction exile is probably a better option than prison. Prison makes sense for those who murder outside the womb because they are a danger to the public. The reality right now, however, is that an abortionist is not a danger to people outside the womb in most cases, and there are plenty of jurisdictions where abortion is legalized. So exile them. If these are state level laws, send them to a pro-choice state, or if the entire nation became pro-life, send them to a pro-choice country. Tell them that if they return, the law will not protect them and killing them no longer carries a penalty.
I don't want to waste a ton of money on prisons either.
*I understand those who say "Public safety" isn't really a thing. I get that argument. Even still, if somebody commits an armed robbery, and is tried and convicted of it, I think its OK to lock him up for a period of time so he can't hurt anyone else. However, the true punishment for his actions should still be working to compensate the victim. In non-violent theft cases, that work could be probably done outside prison, while in violent crime cases it would probably be done in prison, but it should still be done.
** Note that I am not condoning dictatorship here in any way. I couldn't say "President" here becasue political reality shows that I could not do this as President. So basically it was a way of saying "If it was up to me..." Congress would not allow it. I could, however, pardon vigilante attacks on abortion doctors, and I would pardon all such people.
The doctor can sign a written note allowing an abortion whenever there's a significant chance the mother could die from giving birth. The things that you mentioned wouldn't put a dent in the abortion rate.
I don't know if that's entirely true. Granted, low incomes and having a child while in school are no excuse for abortion, but there is a corrolation between them and abortion. Granted, I still think abortion should be illegal but there might be something to be said for shortening school and so forth (I personally think gov. schools waste a ton and should all be privatized. If the government wants to ensure everyone gets an education, use vouchers or some other way of doing it.)
Here is the problem I have with any law such as this one: It is impossible to know exactly when "conception" occurs. Our science is just not there yet. At some point in a pregnancy, we can say that a woman is for sure pregnant, but that is days after "conception". If a woman has not had intercourse for, oh, say, 28 days or so, we can almost say for sure she is or is not pregnant. Anything in between, it is impossible to know with the technology we possess now. So laws that talk about "conception" as some sort of bench mark make no sense. Rand being a physician, I am surprised he would go down this road.
It may be that you cannot prove conception at the moment of conception, but that doesn't mean there's no life.
I think this is why Rand believes the Morning After Pill should be legal, because most likely conception hasn't actually occurred the morning after sex. But, there isn't any situation where a woman actually gets an abortion at an abortion clinic within 3-4 days of being pregnant. No one can find out they're pregnant that quickly and then get in that quickly to get an abortion. So passing a law that closes down every abortion clinic in the U.S would be a just law. Every single abortion that is performed at an abortion clinic kills an innocent human being.
Yeah, this.
Funny some of the responses in this thread about this subject. When Ron introduced the same legislation....crickets. Now Rand does and people threaten to bolt. LOL.
Ron did want to define life as beginning at conception, but I'm pretty sure he wanted the states to set the penalty... if any... I think Rand wants the procedure banned nationwide. Rand is also a compromise in other respects besides this one. Granted, I still support Rand. If I were going to oppose him on anything, it would be his iffy foreign policy. But he's still better than anyone else of any relevance so I'm behind him.
How long does the "It's only a life if someone else knows about it" exception extend? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?
