One of the things I have been thinking of is how would a ban on abortion be implemented and what would some of the practical effects of such a ban be assuming a national ban and not just a state-by-state patchwork of decisions.
After over 30 years of abortion being legal, somehow enforcing a strict ban seems like it would be a huge undertaking and very difficult. There are some very important implementation questions that should be asked of all lawmakers who would like to see abortion be made illegal in this country.
Some anti-abortion people have argued that we should only punish the "supply-side" or the so called "evil doctor/pharmacist". Why should it be supply-side based? It is the mothers who are doing the murder of the so-called unborn. Who would be arrested if the pregnant woman just obtained an illegal dose of RU-486 from lets say Canada?
Just because that is more politically easier to go after the doctors/pharmacists we should prosecute them? The women are the ones requesting the abortion. Doctors are not going out to pregnant women and saying, please abort your fetus.
In order to really get results, the woman would have to be punished the harshest or at least equal to the doctor.
And what about most birth-control methods. Most people with anti-abortion views would also view these drugs as abortion causing since in many cases they stop the implantation of a fertilized egg in some cases? We should outlaw most birth control as well, right?
What about the millions of miscarriages in the US per year, should those be investigated as crime scenes? After all if abortion is illegal these "criminal women" would be faking miscarriages so they could have their abortions. BTW, who is going to pay for the additional "abortion police" to track down and arrest all of the hundreds of thousands of woman and doctors who violate the law?
What about travel to Canada and Mexico, would pregnant women not be able to travel to Canada/Mexico or Europe for that matter?
If a friend or relative took the pregnant woman to Canada for an abortion, would he/she be charged as accomplice to murder?
How many years should a woman and her accomplice go to jail for having an abortion (assuming the legislator is against the death penalty) probably life without parole, right? After all we are talking about the equivalent of pre-meditated murder for hire which is a CAPITAL OFFENSE. Now that would be the height of irony ABORTION carries the DEATH PENALTY for women and accomplice doctors/pharmacists.
Since the state has a right and an obligation according to you to protect the fetus, what would be the responsibility of the woman to report a possible pregnancy or would she have to report whenever she is having sex? How else would the state be able to protect the fetuses.
Who would pay for the extra custom agents to stop the illegal RU-486 and the illegal birth control pills/devices that would be imported illegally by criminal women wanting birth control and abortions?
I assume there is no exception for genetic disorders. For severely genetically deformed babies that will be born needing millions of dollars of medical care, who will pay for that care if the mother does not want the baby?
Will the Coast Guard prevent pregnant women from taking a boat ride 12 miles offshore and having an abortion (either with RU-486 or Surgically? If so, who will pay for that survellance?
You may think these questions are silly, but making abortion illegal will not stop it and remember in most cases it can be done with taking a pill, so how are you going to enforce without having the severest punishment for the women. There are so many ways around it, after over 30 years of it being legal, it would be like Prohibition.
Of course it will affect the poor and minorities who will not be able to get around the law as easily, but even those people will have willing accomplices to help them from outside the reach of the US laws.
BTW Would sex out of wedlock also be outlawed?