Michael Brendan Dougherty is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers and bloggers. I generally find his ideas to be something that I at least empathize, if not agree, with. I also just think he has an entertaining writing style. He makes some excellent points in this article on Ron Paul and his stance on abortion.
Sometimes you read a quote from someone and can’t help but wonder whether the people gave any thought to how ridiculous their comments sound. All this talk about “forced” pregnancies is completely absurd. Nobody in the typical scenario forced anyone to become pregnant, that was the result of a choice made by the individual. The typical pro-lifer just doesn’t think that a person should be allowed to take the easy way out of killing a child for the purpose of preserving their convenience. These quotes are a pretty clear example of a person crying about having to take responsibility for their actions.
I especially found this line to be humorous –
Funny, most women I know aren’t “forced” to become pregnant. (Sometimes they like a few drinks and a Dido record. Other times they ask for love and marriage)
All this being said, I do think this whole issue points out the difficulty of a libertarian position. Where do you draw the line on personal liberty. At some point your personal liberty starts to interfere with the liberty of others, but where is that point. I think that if Mr. Paul considers a fetus to be a human being, it would make sense that the fetus should have it’s right to exist preserved.
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