Abortion and Rights: Applying Libertarian Principles Correctly by Doris Gordon Libertarians for Life Copyright 1995, 1999

About this Article body, and since 1974 the Libertarian Party's platform In arguing that abortion should not be legal, pro- has unconditionally supported abortion choice until lifers generally focus on proving that a human being's life birth. begins at conception. This argument often fails to persuade, Many libertarians, however, find abortion to be because it does not confront the right of the woman to contrary to libertarian principles and goals. control her own body. Many pro-lifers talk as if they have According to Ron Paul, "Today, we are seeing a lost the rights argument — or worse that they can never win it — and they end up painting rights as irrelevant and piecemeal destruction of individual freedom. And in running away from it. abortion, the statists have found a most effective Turning this weakness on rights to their advantage, method of obliterating freedom: obliterating the abortion choicers contemptuously attack abortion individual."1 Dr. Paul, an obstetrician and a member opponents as "anti-choice" and claim that to be anti-legal- of Congress (R-TX), was the Libertarian Party's abortion is to be anti-liberty. candidate for President in 1988. Actually, however, pro-lifers own the libertarian high The Libertarian Party's "Statement of ground. This article, "Abortion and Rights: Applying Principles" itself defends "the right to life." In the Libertarian Principles Correctly," shows why. past, the platform has said, "Children are human Using non-religious arguments, it shows why beings and, as such, have all the rights of human libertarian principles apply to human beings from 2 conception. Libertarianism's basic principle is the beings." Are children human beings prenatally? obligation not to aggress against anyone. Despite the fact that this is the pivotal question in the It follows from this obligation that the prenatal child abortion debate, the platform is silent. has the right to be in the mother's womb. In response to such shortcomings, Libertarians Many people are confused on abortion, because they for Life (LFL) was formed in 1976. As is standard in see the child's rights as being in conflict with the mother's libertarian discussion, LFL brings a philosophical, rights. This article shows why no such conflict exists. rather than a religious or merely pragmatic, Readers' comments are invited. perspective to the abortion debate.3 Being libertarian, Versions of this article appeared in Studies in Prolife Feminism, Volume One, Number Two, Spring, 1995, LFL opposes the use of state power to enforce Rachel MacNair, editor-in-chief. Feminism and policies or principles that cannot be supported on the Nonviolence Studies Association, Inc., publisher, 811 East grounds of defense against aggressors. The state 47th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110; and in the should not side with any aggressor at the expense of International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. the victim. If abortion is an evil that violates rights, 19, No. 3/4, 1999, Barmarick Publications, Enholmes Hall, then libertarians, of all people, should not want the Parrington, Hull East Riding of Yorkshire, England HU12 state to defend and protect the evil-doing. 0PR. Two tiers of human offspring? The unalienable right not to be unjustly killed I. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATION: A applies equally to all human beings. Day One in a LIBERTARIAN FRAMEWORK human being's life occurs at fertilization — that is high school biology. If pregnant women are human Abortion proponents equate unwanted beings, why not when they themselves were zygotes? pregnancy with involuntary servitude and slavery, A two-tiered legal policy on human offspring that often framing their arguments with "pro-choice" and defines a superior class with rights, and an inferior other libertarian-sounding rights talk. After all, class without rights, is not libertarian. libertarians support the right to control one's own In her 1963 article, "Man's Rights," Ayn Rand