Punishment For Abortion?

Makedde · #1 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:41 PM

As you would already know, had you been reading a few of the threads I have started, there is a debate raging about the decriminalisation of abortion in some Australian States.
I know for a fact that in Victoria, the State in which I live, abortion is technically illegal. It has been illegal since 1967 when a Crimes Act bill was passed. Abortion is permitted only if the womans physical or mental health is at risk.
Obviously, women have been using this to get around the law, and around 20 to 30 thousand woman have an abortion in the State of Victoria each year.

There are many people who protest the coming change in law. This change will mean that abortion is legal.
I have to assume the people who are protesting want abortion to stay illegal - they want it to be a criminal offence.

Now, if something is illegal, there must be punishment when that law is broken, yet no protester has ever stated what they believe a suitable punishment for women should be.
I don't even think they have thought about a punishment, to be honest.

So, my question is, to those who want abortion made illegal: What punishment is acceptable for a woman who seeks an abortion? What charges, if any, should be laid against a woman who has an abortion?
Should charges be laid against the abortion provider? What punishment do you believe is acceptable for an abortion provider?

White Fox · #2 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:48 PM

There should be a $750 fine for a woman seeking an abortion, along with a required 20 hours of counseling.

There should be a $5,000 fine for a woman who has had an abortion, along with a required 40 hours of counseling.

There should be a $10,000 dollar fine for any organization systematically providing abortions, along with future government oversight if not the termination of that organization, depending on how much of that organization's function was put into abortion. Individuals in an organization are also subject to individual penalties.

There should be a $7,500 fine per operation for any individual providing an abortion, along with a minimum 5 year prison sentence per operation.

Makedde · #3 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:50 PM

How do you work this out?
Why does the woman get a harsher penalty when she isn't the one who actually terminates the pregnancy?

White Fox · #4 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makedde

How do you work this out?
Why does the woman get a harsher penalty when she isn't the one who actually terminates the pregnancy?

Allowing someone to be killed is not as bad as killing. If a woman gives herself an abortion then she would be subject to the individual punishment.

Makedde · #5 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by White Fox

Allowing someone to be killed is not as bad as killing. If a woman gives herself an abortion then she would be subject to the individual punishment.

Okay, how do you determine the amount of money each must pay?

Lets say abortion is murder, since it is illegal. Should the penalty for the murder of a fetus be the same as the penalty for the murder of a born person?

White Fox · #6 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Makedde

Okay, how do you determine the amount of money each must pay?

It's impossible to determine through any set method. Those numbers are simply relative and completely arbitrary.

Quote:

Lets say abortion is murder, since it is illegal. Should the penalty for the murder of a fetus be the same as the penalty for the murder of a born person?

Ideally it would, but executing anyone who has preformed an abortion wouldn't be practical.

Look at the death penalty for example. Ideally, the punishment would be equal to the crime. In reality, the costs of that punishment on everyone else are much greater than the value of that punishment.

Makedde · #7 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by White Fox

Ideally it would, but executing anyone who has preformed an abortion wouldn't be practical.

A life has been taken, though, and the DP is handed down when someone has taken the life of another, rendering them 'guilty'. If an abortion provider is as guilty of murder as the person next to them, then it seems logical to me that the abortion provider should be given the DP as well.

B L Zeebub · #8 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by White Fox

There should be a $750 fine for a woman seeking an abortion, along with a required 20 hours of counseling.

There should be a $5,000 fine for a woman who has had an abortion, along with a required 40 hours of counseling.

There should be a $10,000 dollar fine for any organization systematically providing abortions, along with future government oversight if not the termination of that organization, depending on how much of that organization's function was put into abortion. Individuals in an organization are also subject to individual penalties.

There should be a $7,500 fine per operation for any individual providing an abortion, along with a minimum 5 year prison sentence per operation.

Oh the Nanny State, big government sucks

White Fox · #9 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B L Zeebub

Oh the Nanny State, big government sucks

Of course it does.

A small government protects life, liberty, and property while preforming a few other necessary functions. This would fall under the "life" category.

Spare · #10 (**permalink**) 07-20-2008, 10:10 PM

I probably would take a different tack .....

Homicide is homicide. The doctor did it .. the woman aided and abetted it, and is charged with the same crime. The nurse was an accessory.

A crime is a crime.

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