# If abortion is made illegal again, what should be the punishment for women having one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633 "2014-06-12T16:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/1 "2014-06-12T16:20:12Z")
Well? ---
**Author:** ![thatguyjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@thatguyjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatguyjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/2 "2014-06-12T16:28:19Z")
Have to take a class (couple hours tops) on proper use of contraceptives. Plus free contraceptives for life. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/3 "2014-06-12T16:29:53Z")
> [@thatguyjeff](#): > > Have to take a class (couple hours tops) on proper use of contraceptives. Plus free contraceptives for life. This works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/4 "2014-06-12T16:30:35Z")
I assume if it’s made illegal then it would be viewed as first degree murder. So, life in jail with the possibility of parole. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/5 "2014-06-12T16:31:40Z")
> [@thatguyjeff](#): > > Have to take a class (couple hours tops) on proper use of contraceptives. Plus free contraceptives for life. I endorse this. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/6 "2014-06-12T16:31:47Z")
$2.50 fine. $5.00 for the doctor. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/7 "2014-06-12T16:35:00Z")
_IF_ abortion were illegal and a meaningful consequence were required, I would prefer any punishment focus on preventing future abortions. That means not just free birth control, but mandatory birth control - either IUD or implants for the woman and vasectomy for the man. Yes, for the man as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/8 "2014-06-12T16:36:53Z")
I would also suggest that the OP’s choices are not a particularly fair cross-section of possible criminal sanctions: capital punishment, two different poll options for life in prison, felony prison sentence, and termination of parental rights. Fines, misdemeanor convictions, community service – possibly handing out contraceptives – all of these are options on the more lenient side of the scale, and the OP simply offers an ‘explain below’ pick option. While I think it should stimulate conversation as many people will feel interested in explaining their pick, I can’t say it represents a good-faith effort to present a wide range of choices. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/9 "2014-06-12T16:38:57Z")
No punishment at all, because it shouldn’t be illegal in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/10 "2014-06-12T16:41:14Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > _IF_ abortion were illegal and a meaningful consequence were required, I would prefer any punishment focus on preventing future abortions. That means not just free birth control, but mandatory birth control… > [@Procrustus](#): > > $2.50 fine. $5.00 for the doctor. Many cities have a policy where if you have more than $X in outstanding parking fines, your car gets booted. So maybe if you rack up more than $50 in unpaid abortion tickets, you get slapped with a chastity belt until you pay up. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/11 "2014-06-12T16:42:33Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Well? Did you intend for this thread to be answered by those who think it _should_ be made illegal? If so, you better say so. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/12 "2014-06-12T16:42:36Z")
None. The onus is on the doctor providing an illegal procedure. I’d say that if abortion is made illegal, you’ll see a woman in the White House in the following election (if not this time around). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/13 "2014-06-12T16:42:43Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > _IF_ abortion were illegal and a meaningful consequence were required, I would prefer any punishment focus on preventing future abortions. That means not just free birth control, but mandatory birth control - either IUD or implants for the woman and vasectomy for the man. Yes, for the man as well. I’d only point out that IUD and implants are a more temporary, reversible solution, and vasectomy a more permanent, difficult-to-reverse solution. That seems like an equal protection issue. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/14 "2014-06-12T16:55:52Z")
As far as I know, there was never a judicial punishment for “having” an abortion, only for medically assisting in one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/15 "2014-06-12T16:58:22Z")
I think 30 seconds of community service would suffice. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/16 "2014-06-12T17:01:53Z")
Having one’s children taken away is not a constitutionally permissible _criminal sanction_. ---
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/17 "2014-06-12T17:04:20Z")
> [@thatguyjeff](#): > > Have to take a class (couple hours tops) on proper use of contraceptives. Plus free contraceptives for life. > [@Procrustus](#): > > $2.50 fine. $5.00 for the doctor. Some combination of these would work, with the stipulation that (as others have noted) the contraceptives in question would be Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs), i.e. IUDs and implants. [They are virtually foolproof, collapse the abortion rate, and pay for themselves.](http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/05/study-free-birth-control-significantly-cuts-abortion-rates/) In this scenario, much of the genuinely anti-abortion movement will see that it makes more sense to apply **thatguyjeff** ’s formula ahead of time, rather than as a punishment. Many other countries do just that, get great results, and I have a feeling, based on some encouraging signs, that we’re moving towards a point in the US where the forced-birthers will have to put up or shut up. The abortion rate in NYC and elsewhere is declining for precisely these reasons, and do they want to stop abortion or just try to deter/punish sex? Also, regarding the men, since combining contraceptive methods is extremely effective, that means that combining condom usage with coitus interruptus is practically 100% effective. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/18 "2014-06-12T17:22:04Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > No punishment at all, because it shouldn’t be illegal in the first place. Don’t fight the hypothetical. Really, like mentioned above the onus should be on the doctor performing the illegal act. If this law did pass it would probably be passed by religious conservatives so they would probably want to show the woman how precious and important babies are. So if a woman performed her own abortion I would think the punishment would be something like community service along the lines of helping out at a daycare center or a hospital nursery. Or if she could knit she could do what my grandma does and knit baby blankets and then give them to the nursery. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/19 "2014-06-12T17:46:46Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > No punishment at all, because it shouldn’t be illegal in the first place. This. It would be an unfair and ridiculous law. ---
**Author:** ![Weeping\_Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@Weeping\_Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weeping_Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633/20 "2014-06-12T18:13:24Z")
This is kinda a tricky question, because the penalty I would want in an ideal system is much harsher than the penalty I would realistically try to enact if by some miracle the government narrowly managed to push through a ban. So, I would work for a gradual increase, as the national abhorrence at the practice of abortion slowly rises. First penalties would apply only to doctors - fines, loss of license, etc. After a decade or so of this, the country might be ready for imprisoning abortionists. Still later, I would begin to apply penalties to women who procure abortions for themselves. Eventually, perhaps, we will be able to treat feticide as legally identical to homicide. But it will be a long road, and we won’t be there until only a tiny fraction of the population would ever even consider committing such a heinous act. All of this would be in conjunction with a massive campaign to improve adoption services and social support for single mothers. Although it’s hardly noble to base one’s choice to keep one’s child on economics, I think we have to accept that doing so is better than choosing to abort it based on economics, so we have to make sure that fewer and fewer women will ever think it is something they “have” to do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-abortion-is-made-illegal-again-what-should-be-the-punishment-for-women-having-one/690633.md?page=2)