The One Minute Case For Abortion Rights

What is abortion?
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the induced removal of the fetus which results in the death of the fetus.
There are two issues raised in abortion debates:
Does a fetus have a right to be in a woman’s body against her will?
Does the government have the right to restrict reproductive rights to pursue social objectives?
Anti-abortionists confuse the potential with the actual
A human being is a physically distinct being who survives by the use of reason. Prior to birth, a fetus is to a human being what an apple is to an apple tree or an egg to a chicken. A fetus may superficially resemble a human being, but it is no more a baby than an embryo inside an egg is a chick – a picture is not an argument. It has the potential to be a human being but does not become an actual human being until it is born.
There is no right to be a parasite
Rights derive from the fact that human beings need freedom from the coercion of others to live. Two properties are essential for a being to possess rights: physical independence and the capacity for rational thought. “Physical independence” means that a being’s existence is not necessarily dependent on the sustenance of another.
A fetus is not an independent entity – to live, it must drain the resources of the mother – it is a parasite until it is born. A newly-born infant is also helpless, but it does not impose a burden on the mother by its very existence – others may choose to provide for it. A parent who decides to bring a human being into the world accepts an obligation to provide for it. Still, that obligation applies to actual human beings – a fetus does not have a right to force a mother to nurture it.
Humans own their own body
The most fundamental of rights is the right to one’s own life, which means the right to own one’s body. A woman’s body is not the property of the state or society, to be controlled by majority rule or directed towards political goals. The right to make decisions regarding one’s fertility is a fundamental human right. Just as it would be unjust to violate a woman by forcibly inseminating her, so it is evil to force her to bear children against her will.
Pro-rights is the only consistent pro-life, pro-family position
“Responsible parenthood involves decades devoted to the child’s proper nurture. To sentence a woman to bear a child against her will is an unspeakable violation of her rights: her right to liberty (to the functions of her body), her right to the pursuit of happiness, and, sometimes, her right to life itself, even as a serf. Such a sentence represents the sacrifice of the actual to the potential, of a real human being to a piece of protoplasm, which has no life in the human sense of the term. It is sheer perversion of language for people who demand this sacrifice to call themselves ‘right-to-lifers.’ “
— Leonard Peikoff (Objectivism, in the Chapter on Government)
Further reading
- Abortion is Pro Life
- Abortion: An Absolute Right by the Association for Objective Law
- The One Minute Case for Individual Rights
This article was originally published on May 18, 2007 on OneMinuteCases. For more, check out my other blog.
Join The Discussion
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Patrick Smith July 28, 2015 , 9:21 pm Vote3
Consent is implicitly provided through the sex act to the temporary use of the body for the 9 months needed. You cant adopt a child and then decide not to feed them. Removing this responsibility for a woman’s actions also removes their agency.
Marchella July 28, 2015 , 9:31 pm Vote7
A fetus is now considered a parasite? Total rubbish!
Long Lost Friend July 29, 2015 , 3:51 am Vote6
Tired, old, weak arguments…
Audrey C July 29, 2015 , 4:20 am Vote5
Against her will? Please. Sex isn’t a game – it makes real people. Most people are aware that sex has the potential to create at least one new person, and consenting to sex (especially unprotected sex) despite this fact is consent for the fetus.
Humans own their own body – indeed. So, does the fetus own its own body? When is a fetus not human?
I agree – these arguments are tired, old, and weak.
NC July 29, 2015 , 4:20 am Vote4
Quite frankly i think the pro choice position has lost much support and im glad for it. I see no valid argument for it anymore. A human is a human regardless of development stages. Maybe the mom should stop being so selfish and have the friggin kid she opted to have regardless of changing her mind and using words she clearly does really beleive in like idk.. PARASITE! i mean seriously? Its just insane. A human fetus is still human! This shouldnt even be argument in libertarianism today. You cant just throw the theory of property rights into the equation without the context. What good is human property rights is we can just throw out the human part of it when we feel like it.
Account deleted July 29, 2015 , 5:42 pm Vote3
http://christophercantwell.com/2014/04/19/evictionism-abortion/
Bruce Koerber July 30, 2015 , 12:33 am Vote3
Humans are a part of a different kingdom than apples and also a different kingdom than chickens and so that comparison is contrary to natural law. Ignoring natural law will definitely lead to bizarre conclusions.
NC July 30, 2015 , 9:50 am
@brucekoerber in a way the same argument used to justify slavery is used to justify abortion. “well i dont really consider them HUMAN” who gives who the authority to judge who and who isnt a human. Thats on like a hitler level truly. If i went around openly telling people “eh your not human.. So give me your wallet” “your not human in my eyes so im just ganna kill you”
Paul J August 5, 2015 , 5:08 am Vote4
This thought process shows your immaturity as a person and that you truly don’t understand liberty. Of all the rights that we should be fighting for, I would argue Abortion Rights are pretty close to the bottom. It’s hardly simply a woman’s right to choose (utter nonsense) or her right to do what she wants with her body. The idea that the progressives have been pushing for 30+ years that abortion is such a clear cut issue is NONSENSE, but you have to actually be a parent to understand that (unless you are very religious and thus deeply against it). You come off as a guy trying so hard to make a case for individual rights that you forget what is most important and thus you end up flipping to support an institutionalized system of genocide and you don’t even realize it. If you want to support that fine but we should be honest and call it that.
As a libertarian I think one of my great weaknesses and short comings has been not to challenge people more on the abortion issue. While it has always made me feel uneasy, and I would never do it, I have always felt it should be a right (with limits). I certainly support stuff like the day after pill, but the idea that unbridled abortions are some how a right is just immoral. At some point you are killing a person.
You certainly should have the right to do whatever you want to your body but at some point you are killing another person, it is just that simple, and to make silly arguments that fetus’ are parasites just makes you look foolish. It is also nonsense to imply this is only a woman’s right to her body, what about the father? He has no say? Now you are pushing a feminist mantra where men have no standing in the world?
Further the hypocrisy of the left and progressives to think that this issue is so clear but that driving a car everyone should be forced to wear a seat belt is stunning. Or that large sodas should be banned, but this is perfectly acceptable.
To me you sound like someone trying to make a silly academic argument and you don’t clearly understand liberty.