Abortion question-- Will people stop using "they would do it anyway" as a reason?

Question

In an abortion related question, many people cited the fact that people would have "back-alley abortions" as a reason why it should be kept legal. I'm not here to start a debate about whether abortion should be legal or not, I'm just saying that you can't use "people would do it anyway" as a reason.
Should everything that people do be legalized just because people do it? Should only things that people never do be illegal? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

P.S. I'm putting this in the religion category only because that's where the quesiton that inspired this question was...

To BugsBiteBack: Wow... Compairing abortion to breathing... yeah, I guess they are pretty much the same thing...

Answer 1

I am all for legalizing bank robbery. Heck, people rob them anyway, and it would prevent bank robbers from loosing the rest of their life of freedom in the federal pens if only ...it...was..legal.

Answer 2

It's not that people will "do it anyway." It's simply this.

There was a time, not that long ago, when a woman needing an abortion was faced with either trying to find a doctor willing to put his licence on the line to perform one, or they would have to go to a non professional, like a vetrinarian, to get it done. Often, these poor women died as a result of horrific infections or a punctured uterus.

Now. Given the fact that women facing this terrible decision STILL did what they had to do, including facing their possible death, is it not obvious that this decision was not taken lightly? I know of no woman facing this kind of decision EVER taking it lightly. It's gut wrenching and heart breaking to say the least.

Under the circumstances, can we not, as a civil society, at least provide a woman needing an abortion a safe, professional and healthy environment so her life will not be in danger?

Answer 3

"They would do it anyway" is just an example for the real reason abortion is legal: Unwanted pregnancy ruins lives. Not being able to rape people doesn't ruin the rapist's life. But not being able to safely and legally have an abortion when it the baby is desperately unwanted ruins both the life of the mother (not just through back alley abortions, but through the physical and social effects of being pregnant, and emotional mental health issues of being pregnant and then giving up the baby for adoption), and the unwanted child (a lifetime of issues arise from being given up for adoption, being kept by the unloving immature mother would result in abuse and neglect).

Yes, abortion is a terrible thing, but the alternatives are worse. You can't say that about any real crime.

And I do think we should legalize and regulate drugs to get the profits out of the hands of drug lords, and addicts off the streets stealing and hustling.

Answer 4

It's sort of like the contraception argument. Some people would ban contraception or sex ed because it may encourage kids to have sex. It didn't, it only increased the amount of STD's spread and teen pregnancies. Teens will have sex anyways, so it's best if they were safe, educated, and responsible about it.

People will have abortions anyways. It might as well be in a safe and sterile environment.

Answer 5

No, people will not stop using that as a reason. You seem to want to control people's lives. Who cares what people use as a reason. Making abortion illegal will force the poor into dangerous illegal abortions. The rich can go to another country and get it done safely and legally. Abortion is a personal issue and people should have a choice as to what they want to do. If you don't like abortion, don't have one.

Answer 6

When you try to argue "they would do it anyway" as wrong, you are essentially agreeing with all the negatives associated with "doing it under the table".

I understand that "they would do it anyway" is a bad excuse for things that are inherently harmful -- smoking, drug addiction, murder, etc. It's something people shouldn't want to do to themselves regardless of whether its legal or not.

But when you argue "they would do it anyway" as wrong for an act that also carries positive implications, you are not considering the whole situation. Abortion is such an act.

It has different proportions of positives and negatives depending on personal belief. When a person who regards abortion as mostly positive argues "they would do it anyway", they're sympathizing the fact (as they see it) that a good act has been legally restricted.

If breathing is made illegal and someone argues "they would do it anyway", wouldn't you agree that making it illegal has had little effect on people's behaviour?

P.S.
To BrandyJ:
The child in the womb IS a tumour of sorts. It only shares half its genes with the owner of the womb. And "Tumours perform no useful body function" ( http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=tumour&action=Search+OMD ).
Why should the woman be the carrier of a foreign entity if she doesn't want it? Woman need to respect their own body and make decisions regarding it critically.

Answer 7

Your right about that. That is a very stupid reason.

The "It's a woman's choice thing" is a stupid reason to, a woman can't make a baby on her own. A child is not a cancer to be removed it's a life.

I've known Vegitarian's who won't eat meat because they think it's wrong, but then they get pregnant, and have an abortion.

There is a whole list of things that people do that is wrong, that they try to get away with even though it's illegal. Why should having a baby ripped out of your body and killing it being any different.

For the Christians that say it's o.k. the Bible says though shall not kill.
And life begins before we are even in the womb.

'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I haw appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5).

Answer 8

The point they are trying to make is that they will do it anyway and will do it in a way that puts their lives in jeopardy. We should do things to make sure people won't need to have abortions, like promoting safe sex or abstinence and making sure unwanted pregnancies don't occur. but when they do occur, it is the mother's choice on what to do with her body and not the governments.

Answer 9

I agree that that is quick and cheap response to a good question. It's just that some pwole don't know how to express their reasoning. i see legalizing abortion as an act of safety to women who will of still try to abort a pregnacy (you can't ignore that fact).
So many people were in danger and died from botched operations that it needed to be legalized (or at least in my view). Laws of the land require doctors to meet standards that make practices safe for the public/patient.
Just remeber the the argument "people do it anyway" is just some trying to say something that is hard for them to express. They are trying to say more, but don't know how.

Answer 10

If you were raped by a 50 yr old man, and wasn't able to get an abortion because it was illegal, didn't have near enough money to take care of it, was 13 years old, would you still think abortion should be illegal?

Grow a ******* mind, this country is SUPPOSED to be land of the free, but it is not that anymore.

http://www.atheistnation.net/

Answer 11

I agree - to say that people would do it anyway isn't a good answer.

Some say that the woman has the right to do with her body what she chooses.

I wonder why the child is never given a choice?

Why take that right away from the child.

People talk about rights - so why give the woman the choice and take the choice away from the child.

If the mother does not want to raise the child, give it to someone who does.