Why Pro-lifers Should Care About Cash Bail
by Rachel MacNair
My personal story: I was on the phone making an appointment for a massage, yet the woman who did the massages and made her own appointments sounded like she was about to burst into tears. I asked her what the problem was, and she told me: her husband and she had an argument. He was yelling loud enough that a neighbor got worried and called the police. The police had arrested him – according to her, not because he had hit her, but because they were afraid he was going to. She didn’t think he was.
Now she needed $300 to bail him out. She didn’t have it. He didn’t have it. And if he didn’t get out by Monday, he’d miss work. If he missed work, he’d lose his job. And then they were in very deep trouble indeed.
To help her, I bought a package of massages, getting a discount by paying in advance. Therefore, she didn’t have to borrow or take charity. Of course, people whose cash reserves are so low don’t always have that kind of option available.
This is an illustration. For a thought experiment, let’s move this woman to California and put her in the same circumstance. And let’s say, as is common among young married women, she’s pregnant.
I have to ask:
How safe is that baby?
Remember, in California, they make a point of it that low-income women have easy access to abortion.
So if a pregnant woman is arrested, or her partner or husband is arrested, or a member of the extended family that was going to help out is arrested, then there’s a danger they spend a long time in jail and/or lose a job. Even if innocent. Even if guilty, but the crime was minor enough that the sentence would be less than the time they spent in jail awaiting trial. And some innocent people plead guilty just to get out of jail — so then they have something on their records that will interfere with getting jobs in the future.
Even those that would never think of aborting are put in much harder circumstances. And how much more likely are they to think of aborting?
There haven’t been studies to give us any idea of how often this might happen. But really — is it worth inflicting cash bail needlessly if it’s only one case, and just one baby?
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