For the price of the Iraq War, we could buy a new car for every woman whom John McCain and Sarah Palin want to deny the right to an abortion, so that she could drive to Canada if she needed one.
In an ABC News interview, McCain announced his support for a Constitutional amendment banning all abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother's life is threatened. This would deny the 152 million women in America the right to have an abortion under most circumstances. (He also said that such an amendment would be unlikely to pass, and expressed support for overturning Roe v. Wade instead.) Sarah Palin, meanwhile, opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest. Since about 40 million US women have already reached menopause, there are 112 million women to whom the right to have an abortion applies or will apply.
According to AutoPacific, the vehicle with the highest proportion of female buyers is the VW New Beetle, which has a base price of $17,475. Buying New Beetles for 112 million women would cost $1.96 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.
Image used under a Creative Commons License from peterpolaroid. See my new website, The Palin Truth Squad.
