# A Hypothetical Abortion Proposal: Pro=Punishment **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 25, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489 "2009-09-25T05:49:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/41 "2009-09-30T01:35:41Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I already know their reasons; they overwhelmingly are woman haters, and the goal is to hurt women; the are the moral equivalent of the KKK. For those of you just joining us, who may be wondering: yes, he is for real. Yeah, I know. I _know_. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/42 "2009-09-30T02:19:24Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > For those of you just joining us, who may be wondering: yes, he is for real. Yeah, I know. I _know_. As if my opinion of them was unique. Or for that matter, unfounded. ---
**Author:** ![dukette71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@dukette71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dukette71)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/43 "2009-09-30T04:48:46Z")
> [@Cesario](#): > > For those of you who think that the reason people shouldn’t be allowed to abort is because it’s a way of avoiding consequences, are these consequences enough for you? For those of you on the other side who care about the bodily domain rights of the woman, this proposal doesn’t interfere with her control over her body in any way, just her control over her pocketbook, so does that resolve the issue for you in an acceptable way? What if pro-lifers think that abortion is wrong because a fetus is equivalent to a human life and killing a human is murder. And what if pro-choicers believe that a woman should have full control not only of her body, but also of her financial future (including getting an education, career, not having to marry someone just because he knocked her up when she was 15, etc…) I dunno, this doesn’t seem like it would make anyone happy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/44 "2009-09-30T06:47:42Z")
Heck, the woman should just declare the following: “Had I not aborted this fetus, I would have taken a cab to the edge of town when I felt the onset of labour, rented a room at a cheap isolated motel, given birth, abandoned the newborn to die in the motel dumpster, and taken the bus home. I estimate the total cost of my hypothetical ‘child-rearing’ at about $100, which I remit forthwith and consider the matter closed.” I mean that’s _one_ estimate of how much it would cost to “raise” a child. If it’s less valid than some elaborate calculation that assumes the child lived at least 18 years, I’d like to know why. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/45 "2009-09-30T07:00:38Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Heck, the woman should just declare the following: > > “Had I not aborted this fetus, I would have taken a cab to the edge of town when I felt the onset of labour, rented a room at a cheap isolated motel, given birth, abandoned the newborn to die in the motel dumpster, and taken the bus home. I estimate the total cost of my hypothetical ‘child-rearing’ at about $100, which I remit forthwith and consider the matter closed.” > > I mean that’s _one_ estimate of how much it would cost to “raise” a child. If it’s less valid than some elaborate calculation that assumes the child lived at least 18 years, I’d like to know why. “Well, if I’d have actually given birth I would have sold it to a baby trafficking ring. So, I figure the government owes me ten, twenty thousand dollars.” ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/46 "2009-09-30T15:21:56Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > I think this solution is too complicated - clearly we should just stone whores to death, “whore” being defined rather arbitrarily as any woman who has sex without intent to bear children, as determined by any man’s accusation. Oh come on now. Really? Stoning whores to death? That’s barbaric and disgusting. This is the 21st Century. All whores should be put down humanely via lethal injection. …or burning at the stake, I’m cool with that, too. It’s certainly more morally justified than removing a few cells from a woman’s uterus. 'Cuz THAT’s just evil. But YMMV (Yahweh’s Mileage May Vary). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489/47 "2009-09-30T16:21:16Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > “Well, if I’d have actually given birth I would have sold it to a baby trafficking ring. So, I figure the government owes me ten, twenty thousand dollars.” I understand Enron used similar accounting methods. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-abortion-proposal-pro-punishment/511489.md?page=2)