...but, this time, I hope to bring something new to the table.
Now, I'm pro-abortion. My reasons for this are that I believe that the state shouldn't have this level of control over a persons body, and that it can't really be classed as "murder", or what-have-ya, simply because a foetus - whether a sack of cells, or an unborn life - is not yet a citizen of any country, and so isn't a legal person. However, I'm guessing that those arguments are usually done to death.
No, Sam's magical twist lies in the argument that abortion actually helps lower crime rates. Call this a sweeping statement, if you must, but aren't the sorts of people most likely to want an abortion, also the most likely to have a dysfunctional family that results in "delinquent" youths?
Let's assess the stereotypical situation for a woman seeking an abortion: child is a mistake, single parent, not financially stable, may be a result of rape or prostitution, if she is a prostitute, it's likely that she's involved in drugs, etc.
Now, aren't a lot of those factors similar the ones that you would predict as being more likely to produce "hoodlum" youths?
But, let's stop supposing, let's look at a case study: the United States of America.
The US Supreme Court basically ruled, in 1973, that abortion should be legal throughout the United States (up to a certain point in the pregnancy).
Now, look at this graph:
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States
The drop off starts at around 20 years after the decision was made. Is it not unreasonable to suggest that one of the reasons that crime rates have fallen, is that less people who are likely to be criminals are going to be born? Is it reasonable to suggest, that, by aborting, we could be potentially saving lives - and not any old lives - lives of legal citizens, that the state has a duty to protect.
Now, I've been warned to try and control this thread as much as possible. Given my limited powers in this area, I don't see I can reasonably do it, however, I do have faith in my fellow community... and, failing that, a big-assed report button.
