Freakonomics, Abortion, and the Death Penalty

Isn't Steven Levitt's provocative (and starkly essentialist*) one-to-one correlation of legalized abortion and less crime really a cry for expanding the use of the death penalty? In any event, you have got to admire his consistency. For once, here is a person who has a consistent point of view on the termination of life (since most of those who are pro-life seem to also be pro-death penalty and most of those who are pro-choice seem to be against granting the court system the choice of the death penalty). This post should make just about everyone mad. Oh well. Such is life.

*If it wasn't for essentialism (still popular as ever) then there really wouldn't be much of anything left in Levitt's Freakonomics. By the way, what exactly about Levitt's book is economics? It seems to be more a undergrad thesis on the use (or misuse) of statistical inference.