How are we ever supposed to believe that enough variables were ‘controlled for’?
More abortions → [lag 15 years] less crime is of course plausible. We should expect smaller families produced by abortion to have more resources available for the surviving children, if any, which plausibly could reduce their criminality. But the hypothesis is clearly also motivated by a belief that we should hope genetically criminal-inclined people differentially have most of the abortions (though I’m sure this motivation is not forefronted by authors).
How are we ever supposed to believe that enough variables were ‘controlled for’?
More abortions → [lag 15 years] less crime is of course plausible. We should expect smaller families produced by abortion to have more resources available for the surviving children, if any, which plausibly could reduce their criminality. But the hypothesis is clearly also motivated by a belief that we should hope genetically criminal-inclined people differentially have most of the abortions (though I’m sure this motivation is not forefronted by authors).