Re: It's wrong because it's illegal and it's illegal because it's wrong.

Steve said: To suggest that we should not have a law prohibiting a reprehensible behavior simply because it will not stop the behavior is circular reasoning.

Call it what you will. I try to look for actual solutions to real problems, not for platforms where I can grandstand on the subject of morality and ultimately fail the cause.

Abortion is a different can of worms in comparison to murder, rape, and robbery. You can say that it's murder, Steve, but you also have to admit that it's quite different because it's always outwardly apparent when a murder, a rape, or a robbery is committed.

You can make something invisible to the public illegal if you want, but good luck trying to punish all the perpetrators. I would imagine that it's pretty hard to enforce 'swift and sure consequences' against criminals with no outwardly visible evidence. Putting our energies into prevention instead of enforcing the 'swift and sure consequences' you mention just makes better sense to me. ...just saying.