Trump made a critical mistake when asserting that if abortion is made illegal, women who obtain abortions should be punished. The mistake was to assume that people who favor outlawing abortion (i.e., pro-lifers) are consistent and rigorous in their beliefs. In this juvenile day and age, though, feelings "trump" all things, so pro-lifers paradoxically insist that only the doctor who performs an abortion at the mother's behest be punished. How rich.
If one asserts that a fetus is a human life, it follows that intentionally terminating such life is murder, making the only possible conclusion that the murderer and any accomplices be punished. A pro-choicer is at least consistent by rejecting the entire train of thought. A pro-lifer, however, who gets on the train must ride it to its conclusion or be a hypocritical, quivering mass of jelly.
As with so many other aspects of modern life, people want the benefits of their choices without facing the costs. This holds especially true with regard to the feminine imperative, i.e., that women never be held accountable for their actions. Yet this attitude was typical of the dreaded patriarchy, which viewed women as irrational beings who lacked responsibility and therefore could not possess rights. So which is it? Do women have both rights and responsibilities, or neither? There is no middle ground.
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