Abortion Arguments

By Kerby Anderson

With the passing of another abortion legalization milestone this month, it might be worthwhile to re-examine the arguments that were made to justify it's legalization. As John Lott points out in his book, Freedomnomics, the arguments turned out to be false.

He also points out that at first some of the trends seem contradictory. Consider these four changes that occurred after the abortion decision of Roe v. Wade. (1) A sharp increase in premarital sex. (2) A sharp rise in out-of- wedlock births. (3) A drop in the number of children placed for adoption. (4) A decline in marriages that occur after a woman becomes pregnant.

These seem contradictory. Why would both the number of abortions and of out-of-wedlock births go up? And if there are more illegitimate births, why were fewer children available for adoption?

The answer to the first question is that abortion changed attitudes. With abortion as a backup, women and men became less careful in using contraceptives and were more likely to engage in premarital sex.

The answer to the second question is that before Roe, women who could not get an abortion were likely to give their child up for adoption. After Roe, those babies weren't being placed with adoption agencies.

And the decline of so-called "shotgun marriages" was also the result of changed attitudes. Many men who felt tricked into an unwanted fatherhood, were more likely to wash their hands of the affair thinking that the woman had the option of abortion. So if it's her choice, then let her chose abortion or else raise the child by herself.

When abortion was legalized, we were promised that it would reduce many of our social problems. Obviously, they made them worst. We should remember that the next time we hear how a new policy or court decision will makes things better. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view