Abortion and personal sovereignty
Those that know me best, at least in political leanings, know that I am somewhere between a classical liberal and modern liberal.
I’ve seen lots of arguments for and against the recent restrictive abortion laws passed in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, and Missouri. Some of these have been signed by the respective governors of these states and others are going through the legislative process.
Having an abortion is a difficult, agonizing decision. I can count on two hands how many people that I know personally that have had one. Each shared their reasons: simply not wanting a child; not being ready; raped; health concerns.
Aside from the decision itself, ultimately, these women made the choice based upon the personal sovereignty that they have over their own bodies. As far as I am concerned, a fetus is still part of a woman’s body until, well, the fetus exits the womb.
I don’t endorse nor criticize abortion as a practice. But I will criticize the idea of government passing laws that directly affect an individual’s personal sovereignty; especially, given that the limits of said sovereignty cannot be applied equally.
Passing laws to make sure that abortions are performed in safe, clean medical facilities with properly trained medical staff? Sure. I can get on board with that. But passing laws that are really designed to stymie personal sovereignty? Limit a woman’s choice as to what to do with her own body as a private decision? It’s abhorrent. I could never, ever support it.
These laws aren’t about protecting “innocent life”. If it was, then anti-abortion activists would be consistent in their belief in the dignity of human beings. But the truth is they aren’t. Considering the side of the political spectrum most anti-abortion activists occupy, there’s a wealth of evidence that confirms it.
Moreover, this isn’t even about “innocent life”. This is ultimately about culture. It has always been about culture, even after the ink dried on the Roe v. Wade decision.
(For what its worth, if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned, it would represent the end of privacy rights in the United States as well as substantive due process as legal doctrine — the same legal doctrine that not only legalized abortion, but also legalized same-sex marriage. That’s another discussion for another today.)
Regardless how anyone feels about abortion, that decision is left to the childbearing woman and her physician. A government should not have the power to force birth, let alone force death.
What will prevent abortions? Realistic sex education (beyond abstinence only), encouragement of protected sex, and improved access to emergency contraception.
But violating an individual’s rights, let alone the personal sovereignty one has over their own body without any lateral penalties — that is, the sovereignty stripped from the female be met with sovereignty also stripped from a male — is not the way to do it.
