Women's Rights and Abortion

Proposal 3

by Bill Woolsey

Posted September 13, 2005

The Issue:

Abortion is a highly controversial issue among Americans, including Libertarians. Some believe that unborn babies have a right to life—an absolute right not to be killed by abortion. Others insist that a woman has a right to choose whether or not she will remain pregnant and carry the fetus she bears to term. Most Americans reject extreme positions on abortion, favoring few restrictions on first trimester abortions, but supporting limits on late term abortions.

The Principle:

Individuals have the right to life, liberty, and property.

The Solution:

The Libertarian Party opposes any effort by state, local, or federal government to outlaw first trimester abortions.

For second trimester abortions, the Libertarian Party will seek to allow each state to determine its own regulatory framework. Different Libertarians take different positions on what restrictions, if any, are appropriate for abortions in the second trimester.

For third trimester abortions, the Libertarian Party will seek to outlaw any medical procedure that seeks to kill a fetus that would be viable outside the womb. However, the Libertarian Party will seek to resolve this issue on the state level, opposing any effort by Congress or the Federal courts to impose uniformity on the entire nation.

The Libertarian Party will oppose any efforts to compel private hospitals, clinics or doctors to perform abortions, or private insurance companies to fund abortions. We will oppose using tax funding to finance abortions. We oppose any effort to regulate the access of minors to abortion, particularly parental permission, in any way different from other medical procedures.

Benefits

The abortion debate should be taken out of the hands of the pro-life and pro-choice extremists. Treating a fertilized egg and an unborn child nearly at full term as being equivalent is contrary to the common sense of most Americans.

Author's Comments

The position on abortion outlined above is different from both the positions dominant in the Republican Party and the Democrat Party. It reflects the ambivalence with which most American voters view the issue. Abortion being one of the major issues of the day, Libertarians do need to take a position. It is important to understand, however, that individual Libertarian candidates are not required to support or promise to implement any platform plank.

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