Okay, first of all, I'm not looking to debate whether abortion should be legal or not. My question surrounds how legislation would work if abortions were returned to their pre-Roe v. Wade state.

I did a few searches on Google, but all I could really find were references to small fines and limited jail sentences. In the recent partial-birth abortion ban, it looks like only the doctor can be fined/go to jail and the woman is not touched.

So for those that support a complete ban on abortion, or a partial ban on abortion (not just partial birth abortion), how severe should the penalty be?

I've seen stats showing that the black market abortion rate just prior to Roe were enormous. The incentive not to have an abortion illegally would have to be very severe to be effective, no?

If abortion is murder, should the mother be charged with murder or accessory to murder? Should the charge be something else?

Common prison terms for murder of a person range from 15-Life on average, some for sure, get off doing less time. Are you willing to send a woman to jail for 15+ years for an abortion had at 18 for example?

For all the talk about banning abortions, most never seem to mention the enforcement, or their willingness to enforce the ban. Are we going to create an anti-abortion police squad?

10/18/2005 12:21:17 PM

u jail the fetus

10/18/2005 12:26:06 PM

Tiny tiny handcuffs.

10/18/2005 12:27:16 PM

when the fetus grows up, it can kill its mom if it so desires without punishment

10/18/2005 12:30:03 PM

i could see people supporting 15 + years in prison for what they deem as murder.. if not then they have no ground to stand on what so ever.... you cant have it both ways, call it murder, but then not support the consequences. also its not completely absurd to throw someone in prison at 18 for 15 years.... of course depending on the crime. the amount of life left shouldnt make a differnce after a certain age of maturity... only the crime, i think.

10/18/2005 12:37:25 PM

By the way, reversing Roe v. Wade would not make abortion illegal. It would give the issue back to the states.

10/18/2005 12:40:31 PM

that wouldnt help that much would it, i mean you can pretty easily cross state lines and at least one state would be in favor of it...

10/18/2005 12:43:20 PM

do hitmen get charged if caught, or just the person who hired them? i see the doctor being the hitman in this case, with the "mother" bearing the majority of the responsibility.

10/18/2005 12:46:18 PM

^^ They could fairly easily pass a law making it illegal to cross state lines to have an abortion.

10/18/2005 12:47:11 PM

commiting the act, has weight also personal responsobility.

10/18/2005 12:47:39 PM

Quote :

"They could fairly easily pass a law making it illegal to cross state lines to have an abortion."

No they cannot! It would be a violation of the constitution, unlawful imprisonment (in the state) and a violation of privacy. And someone living in NC cannot be charged for a murder committed in Virginia. You can only be extradited to Virginia, where are promptly let go because it wasn't a crime.

Besides, how would they know you were leaving the state for the purpose of getting an abortion? Are they going to put up roadblocks? Put ankle trackers on all pregnant women? All of which would be unconstitutional.

Of course, none of this means that abortions will still be performed as freely. Some poor people cannot afford to travel to another state, especially if the distance is large enough. I suspect pro-choice groups will organize low-cost charter buses to take low-income women to states in order to get their abortions.

10/18/2005 1:10:28 PM

Okay, this is a very stupid question legally speaking but here goes:

Do you become a citizen of this country when you are born, or when you are conceived? The reason I ask is that, a person could go to Canada for a safe, legal abortion, then return.

What is the punishment or recourse against a U.S. citizen that murders another U.S. citizen in another country? The murderer cannot be tried in the U.S. for the crime can they?

10/18/2005 1:18:44 PM

H.R. 748, which passed in the house 270-157, is currently on the Senate legislative calendar to be voted on at a later date. This bill would amend title 18 of the US code to make it a felony to transport a minor across state lines to circumvent various state laws regarding abortion (mainly parental notification). I don't think that, in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned, it would be entirely unlikely for a similar bill to be passed covering all women, not just ones under 18.

^It's where you are born. But basically any place in the world will try you where you comitted a crime, not at your area of origin.

10/18/2005 1:21:20 PM

^ Perhaps, but I think we should first see if this bill, as written, is ruled constitutional or not.

10/18/2005 2:38:05 PM

^I dont see how they would end up ruling it unconstitutional in respect to interstate commerce, given the precedents in that area. And those state laws regarding abortion have been upheld, so I dont think they would overturn in that area either.

Of course, in the case that Roe v. Wade is overturned then there would probably be more originalists on the court, who would have the common sense to realize the words "interstate commerce" actually mean interstate commerce.

[Edited on October 18, 2005 at 3:08 PM. Reason : ]

10/18/2005 3:06:44 PM