Abortion
For Conservatives:
Viewpoint: Liberals are generally pro-choice, which means that they believe that pregnant women should legally be allowed to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
Reasoning: The pro-choice argument commonly rests on the idea that life does not begin at conception, and that a fetus therefore does not have the same rights as a fully-fledged human being (namely, the mother). Liberals have a wide variety of perspectives on the requisite qualities for life. Among these include heart beat, brain activity, sentience, viability, birth, and more. These various standards lead to most liberals labeling the abortion question as one of bodily autonomy: if a fetus is not yet a life, it logically follows that the woman carrying it should have control over its fate. That said, in general, liberals do not encourage pregnant women to get abortions; they simply believe it imperative that women are permitted to make choices for their own bodies at various points along the pregnancy.
Liberals reason that many pregnancies occur due to external reasons rather than a woman’s misguided choices. For example, birth control is not 100 percent effective. If a woman becomes pregnant because pills or other methods of birth control do not work, liberals believe that it is wrong to require her to carry the baby to term, especially if she is very young or financially unstable. This argument also applies to pregnancies that result from rape.
Another aspect that liberals consider is a situation where a fetus is disabled, whether it be caused by incest, Down Syndrome, or any detected debilitating disease. In Iceland, more than four out of five pregnant women choose to have a prenatal screening test. If their unborn baby is found to have a high risk of Down Syndrome, the fetus is almost always aborted. Therefore, in Iceland, with a population of 330,000, an average of only two Down Syndrome babies are born every year. The argument for abortion in this situation is that it is merciful to terminate the life of a Down Syndrome child. According to Helga Sol Olafsdottir, a counselor at Landspitali University Hospital, aborting a fetus that likely has Down Syndrome ends “a possible life that may have had a huge complication… preventing suffering for the child and for the family.” Olafsdottir goes on to say that due to this justification, the act of abortion cannot be classified as murder. This is a sentiment that many liberals share. Additionally, as the practice of aborting Down Syndrome babies spreads more widely across the world, the condition will likely be eventually wiped out entirely.
“Life isn’t black and white. Life is grey.” ~ Helga Sol Olafsdottir, Counselor at Landspitali University Hospital
Not only do liberals disagree with outlawing abortions because they see it as a violation of women’s rights, but many argue that the action would not even achieve its intended purpose. Several studies have shown that there are higher percentages of abortion in countries that forbid the procedure. For example, a study published in the Lancet medical journal in 2016 found that in countries that permit abortion, 34 out of every 1,000 women have one. On the other hand, in countries where abortion is illegal, 37 out of every 1,000 women undergo the procedure. Furthermore, liberals maintain that women in countries that disallow abortion are far more likely to turn to methods of the procedure that present severe health risks. These processes may involve counterfeit drugs, wire coat hangers, or industrial poisons, which cause pain and even death for the mother.
It is important to acknowledge that not all liberals believe that women should be legally allowed to terminate their pregnancies at any point along the pregnancy. Some believe that after fetal viability — the ability of a fetus to survive independently outside of the womb (typically by 24 weeks) — abortions should be forbidden. Others have different views about where the line should be drawn. It is also vital to recognize that abortion is an issue that is not clearly divided upon partisan lines. While liberals are usually pro-choice, some Democrats are pro-life.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Supreme Court Case decided on June 24, 2022, ruled that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. In deciding this case, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), thereby allowing state governments to pass legislation limiting or permitting abortion as they see fit. All three of these cases relate to the constitutional rather than the political intricacies of the abortion issue, so they will not be addressed in detail here. However, it is important to note that most liberals believe the Constitution guarantees women a right to abortion, and they strongly oppose both the Dobbs decision and some state governments’ subsequent attempts to impose strict abortion bans. These Court decisions will undoubtedly reverberate throughout the country in the years to come, reinforcing the fraught reality of the abortion issue.
Sources:
Making Abortion Illegal Does Not Reduce Number of Women Having Terminations, Study Concludes – Independent
How Liberals Think… About Abortion – Huffington Post
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – Supreme Court of the United States
For Liberals:
Viewpoint: Conservatives are generally pro-life, meaning that they believe that pregnant women should not be legally allowed to terminate their pregnancies.
Reasoning: Conservatives believe that life begins at conception, and that an unborn child is entitled to exactly the same rights as any other human being. Therefore, they generally maintain that the mother’s rights do not supersede those of her unborn child, because no human has the right to kill another human. In their minds, the abortion question is not one of bodily autonomy, but rather of humans’ inherent right not to have their life taken by another.
Conservatives often reference religious texts (the Bible, Old Testament, etc.) in their argument against abortion. While these texts never specifically mention abortion by name, several excerpts contain preachings regarding the value of human life as it was given by God. Religious conservatives use these excerpts to argue that God believes abortion to be a sin.
Another influential factor in the argument over abortion is the topic of personal responsibility. Conservatives believe that liberal viewpoints undermine personal responsibility, particularly in regard to abortion. If a young couple has sex when they are not married nor financially stable, and the woman gets pregnant, conservatives believe that it is their responsibility to see out the pregnancy. As a result, some conservatives, particularly religious ones, tend to advocate abstinence before marriage. They believe not only that killing an unborn baby is a sin, but that the easy availability of abortions promotes the idea that promiscuity is without consequences. This phenomenon, in their view, is detrimental to society as a whole.
Some conservatives do not acknowledge any exceptions for the ban on aborting fetuses, including those that are detected to have a high risk of Down Syndrome or any other debilitating disease. The main reason for this view is the same for healthy babies: the fetus is still a life, and no law should permit the ending of a life. Additionally, some conservatives point to the fact that there are some babies who are incorrectly diagnosed in utero with Down Syndrome and subsequently aborted, despite the fact that they would have grown up without the condition. While many liberals point out that terminating a fetus with Down Syndrome is moral because it prevents the suffering that the child would have faced throughout life, conservatives argue differently. A survey polling 284 people over the age of 12 who have Down Syndrome found that 99 percent of them were personally happy with their lives. Further, in 2007, an article was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience that suggested that medical advances may eventually manage Down Syndrome. While these studies reinforce the argument of many conservatives, the underlying belief is that a fetus, no matter what condition it is in, is a life. And, because it is a life, another human should not legally be able to end it.
Like liberals, not all conservatives share the same sentiment in regards to abortion. Many feel that in situations where the mother’s life is at risk, she must have the choice whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. Some also believe that before fetal viability, the ability of a fetus to survive independently outside of the womb (typically by 24 weeks), abortions should be legal. It is also important to recognize that abortion is an issue that is not clearly divided upon partisan lines. While conservatives are usually pro-life, some Republicans are pro-choice.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Supreme Court Case decided on June 24, 2022, ruled that the United States Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. In deciding this case, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), thereby allowing state governments to pass legislation limiting or permitting abortion as they see fit. All three of these cases relate to the constitutional rather than the political intricacies of the abortion issue, so they will not be addressed in detail here. However, it is important to note that most conservatives strongly support the Dobbs decision, as they do not believe there is a constitutional right to abortion. That said, while many of them would applaud the passage of strict state regulations on abortion, conservatives generally believe that each state government has the right to legislate the question of abortion in whatever way it pleases. These Court decisions will undoubtedly reverberate throughout the country in the years to come, reinforcing the fraught reality of the abortion issue.
Sources:
The Truth About Down Syndrome – New York Times
In Iceland 100% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Think about that. – Life Site News
Bible Verses about Abortion – Bible Study Tools
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – Supreme Court of the United States