A Conservative Argument for Abortion Rights

Jim, and Sandy were the couple in a case study that I was given in an ethics class at Vanguard University – a private christian college in Southern, California. It was a Thursday evening in 2011. My professor handed me the three sheets of paper, stapled together, and I looked it over. I had no idea that the words on those pages would lead me to change my most deeply held view on social, and political issues – namely, that a ban on abortion was necessary in order to uphold the value of human life.

Jim, and Sandy were a married christian couple, using an intrauterine device as a contraceptive. Since an IUD lines the uterus, a pregnancy can cause health complications. Sometimes they can be severe, and lead to death, the case study read. Sandy got pregnant, and after seeing her doctor she was convinced that her life could be in danger if she carried the pregnancy to term. Naturally, the question we were asked was, “what should Jim, and Sandy do?”

I had thought about abortion before only in abstract terms. But I found myself imagining my life in Jim’s shoes. The love of my life, the center of my world…she might die.

As a class, we debated the reasons for, and against Sandy having an abortion, if she chose to. For most of the class – a conservative bunch for the most part – it was agreed that she was justified in either course of action because her life was in danger. I agreed.

The question posed to the class had nothing to do with whether or not abortion should be legal. However, I felt for the first time the intensely personal, and sensitive nature of the abortion issue, and it caused me to ask myself a different question. If my wife and I had to make a life, and death decision like that, what would it be like, if we lived in a country, where we never had a choice about it in the first place?

That question got me thinking about what an abortion ban would actually look like in practice. Like most people who favor such a ban, I supported exceptions for life of the mother. But that’s exactly the problem, I realized. It’s not always crystal clear when, and if, a woman’s life is in danger. Strictly speaking, a pregnancy is always a health risk. If abortion were illegal, it would be all too easy for a woman to simply claim the “life of the mother” exception, and the ban would be pointless.

In order to determine whether or not her life is in danger, some type of process would have to be set up, in which an agent of state, in conjunction with medical professionals, would make the final decision as to whether or not the abortion was warranted. Can you imagine…the government making decisions for American citizens that determine who lives, and who dies?

A similar dilemma would exist in dealing with exceptions for rape, or incest. I don’t think I would need to spell out how incredibly invasive government would need to become in order to make sure rape, and incest exceptions were valid.

The argument I began to develop now goes like this:

Because the abortion issue involves such an intimate union between mother, and the unborn; because it involves issues of life, and death that affect both parties; and because it involves decisions of a uniquely private, and sensitive nature – namely reproductive decisions – a ban on abortion would constitute an invasion into the private lives of citizens, so deep, and unprecedented, that it would undermine our integrity as a free society.

Also, because a ban would require the removal of a woman’s decision-making power in situations where her own life is at stake, it would, effectively, infringe on the very right that it aims to protect – the right to life.

Finally, because the right to preserve one’s life is so essential to the respect of human value, and dignity, a ban on abortion would not only undermine our integrity as a free society, but as a just one.

**Objections:**

I could see a counter argument that would claim that even if I’m correct about a ban infringing on the right to life, and liberty, it is nothing more than a rights in conflict dilemma. That argument oversimplifies the problem. The fact that abortion is such a controversial topic among people who universally agree on the value of human life is evidence of this truth: that the determination of which party has a greater right to live is impossible to make objectively, at least by any human being. It is, therefore, morally necessary to allow the individuals who will be most affected by the decision, to make it for themselves, in consultation with their conscience, and their God.

**Utilitarian Considerations**

There is a strong utilitarian case against banning abortion as well, although that is not my main focus here. We only need to look to failures such as the war on drugs, or prohibition to see what kinds of things that can happen when government bans an activity without considering some of the unintended consequences – namely, increases in violent crime, and mass incarceration. It is the nature of politicians to double-down on their efforts when measures aren’t having their desired result. Penalties get stiffer. Enforcement agencies grow larger. The definition of what constitutes guilt is broadened. Citizens, guilty and innocent, are increasingly put on the defensive. Would that happen with an abortion ban? No one can say for sure. But, the delicate nature of reproductive issues altogether should tell us plainly: it’s not worth the gamble.

**Final Thoughts**

I titled this post, *“A Conservative Argument for Abortion Rights”* because I wanted to make the case that the traditional western values of individual liberty, and limited government, as well as the sanctity of human life, are best upheld by allowing people complete reproductive freedom. I believe that abortion is wrong, at least generally. I can also see that there are situations in which abortion is justified. Because of the inherent complexity, and delicacy of those situations, any law that would threaten an individual’s autonomy in making them, would be an unjust violation of the values that we hold most dear.

Taken from themanicmanifesto.wordpress.com