Originally Posted by SteveZ

The Center for Disease Control maintains considerable data on abortions which have occurred in the USA since 1974. A synopsis of their data can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5309a1.Htm

The data curves are interesting, especially as you view the later years. While one can see the curve on abortions for <15 and 15-19 year age groups flattening since 1989, one must factor in that there are also millions fewer in the <15 and 15-19 year age populations since 1989 because of previous years abortions.

In actuality, if 80% of those aborted since 1974 had lived, there would be approximately 18 million more persons in this country between 18-35 years old. If 2/3rd of that 18 million were in the workforce, that would be 12 million more workers contributing into the Social Security Trust Fund, and their contributions would be (even with minimum wage jobs) over half-a-trillion dollars. How that extra money would affect SSA solvency is immense.

And to add more irony, the number of illegal aliens in the USA is estimated at close to 20 million, and roughly 2/3rd of them are workers (they have stay-at-home spouses and kids, too). Their numbers have grown significantly since 1990. So, we have roughly 13.5 million illegal alien workers here now, at the same time we've reduced the population of potential US workers 18-35 years old by approximately 12 million.

So, it was not a matter of jobs that Americans wouldn't do - it's that we didn't have the US workers in the appropriate age category to do the jobs.

That's a prime example of the "law of unintended consequences." When you fiddle legislatively with one part of the social environment, there are ripple effects into other parts of the social environment It's a pity that the zealots for any position don't think beyond their own cause and to the potential "unintended" effects of their cause. But, life is simpler when we wear blinders.