Rules, Laws, The Like

Do we speak to the rule or do we speak to the exception? 

Do we speak to rules generally or specifically?

How do we prioritize the rules we follow and apply?

When I look at laws that require exceptions I feel we should write to the exception. Now the laws that came to my mind immediately were abortion. But I think we can also apply this to things like welfare requirements etc. 

Blackstone tell us, "It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." 

Benjamin Franklin took it one step further, ""it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer".

Our legal system is founded on this ideal. That a bulwark to false convictions must be so steadfast that some guilty men and women will escape punishment. Why isn't that same ideal applied to our laws and policies as they're written. 

I hear so many people talk about how we have to stop people who don't "deserve" welfare from receiving it. That it's worse that someone receive something they shouldn't than someone the inverse; that someone who does deserve it misses out. 

When we look at abortion laws that do not include the most commonly approved exemptions we hear similar arguments. Rape and incest exemptions, non-viable fetus, they're just included. Danger to the mother is limited. All out of fear of someone abusing the law. Someone getting something they don't deserve. Relying on prosecutorial discretion is a recipe for disaster. The medical and psychological needs of mothers matters and it's left up to people who aren't experts on the subject.

Looking at it I personally think we need to start applying Blackstone's principle to how we view laws and policies. We need to look at who would be most harmed by the law or policy. Some will be more harmed by the implementation of a policy, others will be harmed by the withholding of a policy. If we focused more on harm than what is deserved we will be better off I know that.

Looking at anti-discrimination policy, welfare policy, laws regarding the health and bodily autonomy of people in our society we need to look at harm. That should be the balance. That should be the metric. That should be the scale. 

If it reduces harm for one, it's better if 10-100 get something they don't deserve.

At least that's how I see it. How do we reduce harm? How do we protect the exception, the minority? We can't prevent all wrongdoing. But we can do better to protect the margins, even if people abuse the rules, laws, and policies at times.