One Can’t Legislate Behavior

I have no idea where I learned the axiom that one can’t legislate behavior, but I have known it for years, and I truly believe it.

Let me share an example. Six months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States made a decision that the issue of abortion is a state issue and not a federal one. Very quickly, many states establish laws that made abortions illegal and even made criminals out of anyone who had an abortion or participated in the process. I believe this was a stupid decision. Why? One cant legislate behavior.

The process of abortion has been around for eons. At first, nature did it, and then humans learned how. I have no idea why Creation decided that something needs to be aborted, but for all sorts of reasons men and women have used abortion for both good and not so good. No law will ever stop it. Antiabortion laws simply push the act underground and into back rooms, making it dangerous and even fatal. The Supreme Court decision about abortion has done exactly that.

The only intelligent decision concerning abortion is to make it legal so that people can make important and safe decisions about what to do.

The same goes for sex work. It has been around for as long as men and women have been horny and lonely. No law will ever stop prostitution. I strongly suspect most people understand this, but we still have hundreds of laws against it. Any anti-prostitution law pushes the practice underground to another street corner or other location.

A much more intelligent approach would be to legalize prostitution, making it safe for both the sex worker and client. This could also slow down sex trafficking and almost eliminate the criminal element.

Does this mean Im pro-abortion and pro-prostitution? No, I wish no one ever had to make a decision about having an abortion or hiring a prostitute, but that is not the reality. For me, legalizing abortions and prostitution are the best answer.

I feel the same way about drugs. Laws are useless. We all know some drugs (even some good ones) can lead to addiction. But addiction is a medical issue, not a crime, unless cancer is also a crime. One will never eliminate any kind of addiction by making up laws.

I know the moral police, almost always from a religious persuasion, will write me off as a crazy man. But I know human nature. No law will ever eliminate abortion,

prostitution, or drug abuse.

I also know that having the police involved in any of these three issues is going to make the problem worse. Medical doctors, social workers, addiction counselors, and a just legal system can do a much better job of dealing creatively with these issues.

Whats your take? Legalize abortion, prostitution, and drug use, or continue to make them crimes?

Peace Love Joy Hope

Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

7 thoughts on “One Can’t Legislate Behavior”

  1. Well….. since Abortion is Healthcare. I’m not sure I would pool it together with prostitution and drug abuse. Too many have made these correlation’s in the past that has given Abortion a stigma. The most important thing is to destigmatize the word Abortion. 1 in 4 women have had Abortions. I’m sure glad you are voting for Safe and Legal Abortion Care, but maybe correlating Abortion with other health care procedures would be a better message. Thx

    Reply
  2. Well….. since Abortion is Healthcare. I’m not sure I would pool it together with prostitution and drug abuse. Too many have made these correlation’s in the past that has given Abortion a stigma. The most important thing is to destigmatize the word Abortion. 1 in 4 women have had Abortions. I’m sure glad you are voting for Safe and Legal Abortion Care, but maybe correlating Abortion with other health care procedures would be a better message. Thx

    Reply

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