The perfect solution to the abortion debate

I'm a nice, friendly kind of person. I really don't like huge, shouting debates.

But, in America, the abortion debate is probably the largest and loudest debate that one can find.

It's a debate fraught with stereotypes, misconceptions, and propaganda.

And when I encounter shouting debates, I have a tendency to go hide somewhere in a corner.

And when I was hiding in a corner a few days ago, I thought up an idea which I think is probably the best--if not perfect--solution to abortion.

However, to agree with my idea, a person would have to have already agreed to the following beliefs:

1. Even if abortions are immoral, that will not stop some desperate women from going through with them illegally.
2. Illegal abortions are unsafe for the mother and child, and policies that reduce illegal abortions should be encouraged.
3.  There are some cases in which an abortion may be an ethical thing to do.
4. Discerning which abortions are ethical or not is something that should be done on a case-by-case basis. There is no dichotomous key to killing babies.
5. Only the pregnant woman has the right to make the decision about the baby.

If you agree to those, then you probably will like my awesome, and very general idea:

1. Set little preconditions on the specific type of abortions that will be allowed or disallowed.
2. The main exception to #1 is that all pregnant women must go through mandatory counseling before being able to go through with an abortion. The counseling will be quick; pregnant women are on a time schedule.
3. The counselor will help the woman explore solutions to the problem that she is facing (unable to take care of baby, baby has birth defects, etc.) that do not involve abortion.
4. At the end, the woman will make the decision of whether or not to get an abortion. Neither the counselor nor relatives of the woman will have any power beyond suggestion in regard to the abortion decision.

The benefits of my idea are:

1. The number of illegal abortions being performed will go down as there is a safer, legal alternative.
2. Data can be collected on the women seeking abortions. This cannot happen reliably when abortion is illegal.
3. Unnecessary abortions would be reduced.
4. Mothers that desperately need abortions would not be stopped.

The main issue with my plan, besides the fact that it is not nearly specific enough to be put into law without much modification, is the cost of the plan. Getting counseling for every woman that wants an abortion in the United States will not come cheaply.

However, I would like to see a Tea Partier challenge the idea of spending money to save as many babies from both legal and illegal abortions.