Pro-lifers often speak of the devastating effect that Roe v. Wade has had on American morality. The deaths of over forty million pre-born children, anti-abortion activists assert, has brought shame upon
Pro-lifers have made tremendous strides pressing the moral case against abortion on demand, but there's another compelling anti-abortion argument that's been curiously overlooked: the economic impact of abortion.
Think about it: of those forty-million-plus unborn children whose lives ended due to Roe, how many would have grown up to be entrepreneurs and captains of industry whose talents made our economy even stronger than it is today? How many would have been our "best and brightest," the folks whose innovations in technology, medicine, and science would have brought about further improvements in American health and productivity?
How many business innovators were taken from us in the womb since 1973? How many ideas never got to see the light of day because those who would have implemented such ideas were terminated before they became toddlers?
Economists marvel at the relative shortness of the most recent recession. However, could we have had an even shorter recession if there were more entrepreneurs among us? We often talk about how the American economy thrives upon competition, but hasn't there been an artificial suppression of competition in our economy over the last generation, because so many potential competitors never even had a chance to start a business, as they were never even given a chance to live past the first or second trimester?
It's hard to fathom just how much "human capital" has been lost to abortion since the early 1970s. If you think that iPods, Blackberries, cell phones, microwaves, DVDs, laptop computers, etc. are impressive innovations, just imagine the technological advances that we could have had if those who would have developed such bold new concepts had been allowed to experience life outside the womb.
Granted, hardcore left-wingers will never appreciate this viewpoint; from their perspective, they probably wouldn't mind if a businessman such as, say, Kenneth Lay had been aborted (not to mention the folks who run Halliburton). In addition, it would be somewhat awkward for prominent religious figures to try to convince people of the inherent immorality of abortion on demand by asserting that the abortion culture has had a deleterious effect on American capitalism.
However, it's hard to deny that the American economic engine, sturdy as it is, would be far stronger if the creativity of those lost to abortion had been allowed to flourish. Roe was, and is, an emotionally charged issue, but there's one thing that's logically clear: it wasn't good for business.
Cross posted at Notes From D.R.
