WORLD | Lessons from the past | Marvin Olasky | Jan. 17, 2009

WORLD | Lessons from the past | Marvin Olasky | Jan. 17, 2009: "abortion on the eve of the Civil War was more frequent, in proportion to the U.S. population, than it is now"

"Roughly 160,000 abortions occurred in 1860 in a population of 30 million. Probably about 1.2 million abortions (13 percent of them through RU-486) occurred last year in a population estimated at around 307 million. The horrific current number is obviously no cause for self-congratulation, but reputable forecasters at the time of Roe v. Wade were predicting a butcher's bill of more than 4 million abortions annually by now."

"But pro-life leaders rejected the premise that an "unwelcome existence" was the only alternative to abortion. They looked at three groups of women at risk for abortions and offered programs of education, refuge, and adoption that would help women to avoid unwanted pregnancy or to recover from it, without killing a child."

"Other organizations established shelters for the pregnant and unmarried: By 1895 Chicago had a dozen, including the Life and Hope Mission, the Rescue Mission, Beulah House, the Jewish Home for Girls, and Boynton Refuge Home. One refuge, the Home for the Friendless, cared for 1,291 women in 1893."

"Evangelists such as Dwight Moody made sure they had the names and addresses of families willing to provide a spare room in their homes to young prostitutes who found themselves pregnant and chose to leave the trade."

"Realizing that this is a fallen world, they appreciated the educational impact of anti-abortion laws but did not expect much in the way of enforcement: Instead, they concentrated on ways to provide women with compassionate alternatives to abortion. They were not laid low by a sense of failure when, despite their efforts, many unborn children died. They rejoiced that so many were saved."

"Laws against abortion assisted the pro-life movement but were not its primary focus of attention. Beginning with Connecticut in 1821, state after state passed laws against abortion, with exceptions to save the life of the mother; by the 1870s, every state had such laws, but they were largely ignored"

"Many states gave immunity to women from all criminal liability, partly because women pregnant after seduction were considered desperate victims rather than perpetrators, and partly to attain any kind of edge in prosecution. Other states, such as New Jersey and New York, gave women immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony."

"Today, it's still worthwhile to pass laws restricting abortion, but time and money spent on providing and promoting compassionate alternatives saves more lives."

Gitmo & National Security Courts: Poor Law, Poor PR | Cato Institute

Gitmo & National Security Courts: Poor Law, Poor PR | Cato Institute: "Federal courts are fully able to handle such cases. They have successfully prosecuted over a hundred terrorism cases since 9/11, attaining over a 90 percent conviction rate. Using the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), federal courts can exclude classified information or offer it in a redacted or unclassified version to protect government interests. Federal courts have proven flexible and successful with CIPA, special detention rules, jury security measures, and exceptions to domestic law that mean we won’t have to read Miranda rights to future detainees."

A Future of Private Roads and Highways - Walter Block - Mises Daily

A Future of Private Roads and Highways - Walter Block - Mises Daily: "If the highways were now commercial ventures, as once in our history they were, and upward of 40,000 people were killed on them annually, you can bet your bottom dollar that Ted Kennedy and his ilk would be holding Senate hearings on the matter. Blamed would be "capitalism," "markets," "greed," i.e., the usual suspects."

The Dangers Of The Drinking Age | Cato Institute

The Dangers Of The Drinking Age | Cato Institute: " A policy imposed from on high, especially one that is readily evaded and opposed by a large fraction of the citizenry, is virtually guaranteed to fail."

Teen Strip-Search Case Heads to U.S. Supreme Court | Fox News

Teen Strip-Search Case Heads to U.S. Supreme Court | Fox News: "Savana Redding was 13 years old when she was told to remove her clothes for a strip search by school officials looking for two ibuprofen pills."

"Strip searches of children produce trauma similar in kind and degree to sexual abuse,"

How can anything think it is ok to strip search someone for something so insignificant as 2 ibuprofen pills?!?!

Main Street Should Embrace Globalization | Cato Institute

Main Street Should Embrace Globalization | Cato Institute: "Free trade means we can buy fresh-cut flowers from Colombia in the middle of winter, along with fresh fruit from Chile and fresh vegetables from Mexico."

"A 2008 study found that trade with China has helped to offset nearly a third of the official rise in income inequality from 1994 to 2005. Lower prices on goods imported from China have more than compensated for any downward pressure on low-skilled wages because of U.S.-China trade."

Regulation and Its Unintended Consequences | Cato Institute

Regulation and Its Unintended Consequences | Cato Institute: "There are 39,000 individuals working full time to regulate the financial markets in the U.S. alone. What did they do when the bubble was inflated? Well, they helped inflate it."

"One former SEC commissioner admitted that his agency failed to develop open marketplaces for mortgage-backed securities because it was “distracted.” The object of its time and resources: grabbing power from other government agencies by starting to regulate hedge funds and introduce new types of supervision of mutual funds."

Is Emergency Care a Failed Market? - Eric M. Staib - Mises Daily

Is Emergency Care a Failed Market? - Eric M. Staib - Mises Daily: "The free-rider problem in ER care is not a market failure, but a government failure. The Hippocratic Oath notwithstanding, hospitals only accept all patients irrespective of their ability to pay because they are required to by government regulations. These laws, which are in place in countries around the planet, result in a simple welfare scheme whereby the costs of the uninsured are transferred to insured patients."

"Without government regulations on their payment collection methods, hospitals would be free to offer more flexible prices and payment options, and to negotiate contracts with individual consumers. Those patients with little financial leverage would be able to form creative payment plans, and those without any savings or insurance could even contract to pay for their services with labor."

"checking out without arranging payment would constitute a violation of contract, and therefore these malicious free riders would be held accountable"

"In every market, firms of all sizes expend resources to maintain a positive public image. There are few actions better received by a community than healing and treating their vulnerable and disabled at a discounted or zero price. As such, it is absolutely foolish to believe that hospitals would not take in such customers for treatment."