Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Morals are not an argument against abortion because morals impinge on personal autonomy which is a more important standard, so the argument against abortion needs to be a liberty-based one. Half a century ago the argument would have been different; at the time of Roe, children out of wedlock stigmatized the mother, state assistance for children was stingy, orphanages were suspect, birth control was rare, incubators were new, and there wasn't anything like the “Morning After” drug or RU486, the abortion drug. In the measurement of mother's liberty vs. child's liberty, as in minors law today, the adult took precedence, but the world has changed dramatically in those respects such that now the child's liberty overrides the hardship imposed on the birthmother, at least after RU486 is no longer an option. The only examples of justifiable abortion in this analysis would be a severe genetic flawed fetus that would never be able to exercise their liberty, or extreme danger to the mother whose liberty would be taken from her. Liberty allows people to select their own ideology depending on their local customs, culture & traditions, and the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that each state can decide for themselves based on those. Even then, considering the ease of travel, social media appeals, online charity, etc., if one state outlaws abortion, the expectant mother can go to another that does, despite the liberty of the child.