I propose the blanket legalization of abortion if the putative mother will file charges of rape or incest in court.
Whenever I debate abortion with a person who favors it, the incest or rape issue is trotted out as the big reason that none of my points are valid. There is a saying that hard cases make bad law, and at any rate, the Pareto principle tells me not to waste my time with the numerically insignificant intractables.
1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient). –The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform
I was going to include several figures for that estimate, but 1% seems to be the overwhelming consensus. Of course, I invite corrections or updates, but it has no bearing on the validity of the proposal–that those under the percent are allowed with a condition, and those over it are not.
Oskar Schindler did not hesitate to save some because he could not save all–he did what he could. So if I can cleanly knock the problematic 1% out of the picture, fine. The point of the court claim is to increase the price of making a statement–you have to be willing to back up what you say. After all, a life is on the line, whether you feel it’s present or merely potential. It should not be a matter of convenience to make this decision. All I ask is a show of good faith that a claim that a crime has occurred is treated as though a crime has occurred.
This disarms the pro-abortion crowd, as it serves to cleanly separate them from the pro-choice crowd, and those are two very different groups of people. Pro-choicers will likely agree to this proposal, whereas pro-abortion zealots will definitely not. The pro-abortion crowd cannot be reasoned with–they have a love of death. The pro-choice crowd has a valid concern about a conflict of rights. I submit that a proposal such as this serves to advance the discussion by allowing each side to make a step toward a reasonable conversation by leaving behind those who misrepresent their own views.
