Abortion restrictions and unlimited government in the United States today

Abstract

AbstractThe controversy over a woman's “right to choose,” as opposed to the numerous “rights” that abortion opponents decide should be assumed to exist for “unborn children,” has always struck me as incomplete. Two missing elements of the argument seem obvious, yet they remain almost completely overlooked. The first is that there is virtually no consideration whatsoever for the pregnant person herself. Her rights, if she is even assumed to have any at all, do not in any way enter into consideration, unless possibly if the pregnancy appears to threaten her life (to be sure, some more humane anti‐abortionists do concede, often grudgingly, that no one should have to carry to term a pregnancy caused by rape, but the point remains). Second, and most paradoxically, opponents of abortion appear also generally to be opposed to “big government,” yet all the while they refuse to recognize any rights at all that belong to the person who is pregnant and to be comfortable with complete control over her. The opponents seem oblivious to the clear fact that stripping pregnant adults of all ability to determine their future requires an enormously powerful, virtually totalitarian government. So, I argue that it is not correct that the United States has had a tradition of abortion prohibition while simultaneously being a “free country.” The association of anti‐abortion policies with right‐wing authoritarianism is definite. Whether there is a cause‐and‐effect relationship is irrelevant. All repressive and dictatorial policies need to be opposed. The Republican Party now continues its merry way to suppress votes, subvert democracy, and attempt to ensure that women are stripped of their autonomy and serve only as incubators for the preservation of the human race and for male pleasure. I conclude that looking at abortion from the viewpoint of informed common sense is long overdue. This article provides that overdue look, along with my apology for not having given the warning sooner.