Warning: What I’m about to say is extremely politically incorrect. If you are easily offended, please do not read any further. I know the subject of abortion is a very sensitive and hot-button issue. I get it. That’s why I thought twice about writing this post. However, I would be intellectually dishonest of I didn’t call things the way I saw them. Donald Trump’s recent comments (which he later backed away from) about punishing women for getting illegal abortions got me thinking. It seems to be the consensus among those who are pro-choice, those who are pro-life, and everyone in the middle, that a woman who gets an illegal abortion should not be punished. But why shouldn’t she? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying she should. I’m just asking the question. And I’m doing so in order to point out an inconsistency, especially with those like myself, who are pro-life and consider abortion to be tantamount to murder.
Let’s say a certain woman, instead of having an abortion, gives birth to her child. But a few days later she later decides she doesn’t want it and hires someone to kill it for her. Who should be punished? Just the murder or both the woman and the person she hired to kill her baby? I’m sure that almost everyone would say they both should be punished. But why the inconsistency? If we truly believe that abortion is murder, why is abortion different from other forms of murder? Why should a woman who hires someone to murder her infant go to prison or even face the death penalty, while a woman who hires a doctor to abort her unborn child goes free? I know abortion is a tough and agonizing decision, but deciding to kill your infant couldn’t be easy either. I’m not trying to make light of the situation at all, I’m just doing an exercise in critical thinking.
Why should we be so merciful and understanding of a woman who has an illegal abortion while offering none of the same to some terrified girl who makes a hasty and wrong-headed decision to kill her infant? I think that’s something we, as pro-lifers, need to ponder. And while we are at, here’s something else that every pro-life political candidate should be asked. If women who have illegal abortions should never be punished, then would you agree that do-it-yourself abortions should be legal? Now that question will make them squirm in their seat, and they’ll go out of their way to try t0 avoid answering it. But it is one that needs to be answered. Here’s something they should keep in mind before answering that question, even if they dare try. If any given action is free of punishment, then that action is, by default, legal.
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