Stopping abortions.

[MH1]

26. True, although

I personally have no problem with "sin taxes" that raise the price for unhealthy behavior. (I know that puts me at odds with a lot here, and you are absolutely correct that it is a widely controversial position.)

A brief defense of that position: If we are going to have a public health system - particularly single payer where the payer is the taxpayer (who else would it be?) - and I am ALL for that - then one way to keep costs down is to discourage the worst behaviors and encourage the best behaviors.

IMO, making birth control low-cost (preferably free), easily accessible, and encouraging its use, is the positive side of that same equation. If prostitution were legal at some level in this country, then taxing the transactions would be an example of the negative (discouragement) side of the equation.

I don't want to derail this thread on this side topic so I'm probably not going to continue the argument if anyone tries to rebut it. That's just how I see it.

I DO agree that we should not be increasing the negative connotation of the word "abortion" but I believe that ship has sailed. I prefer to use other terms when possible.