Thanks for this fine, insightful essay, fporretto. I like the way you solve the abortion impasse. But of course, it doesn't quell the controversy to say that our presumption ought in principle to be the protection of the rights of the unborn. Some Libertarians believe that a pre-born person doesn't have rights; or if in some sense he does, they are not such that can possibly trump the mother's right to "control her body" (i.e., to terminate an unwanted child). Libs and Cons can get together on many, many issues. But clearly not all. best, bb.
Some years ago, when I was involved with the LP, there was a speaker at a New York Libertarian Party convention by the name of Andrew Melechinsky -- no reason for you to have heard of him, he was an entirely local figure with no national visibility -- who chided libertarians generally for backing abortion, on the grounds that the most beautiful thing about the freedom philosophy is how pro-life it is in every other way. And you know, he scored some points. A significant number of the attendees were impressed by the argument, and many others looked as if they wished he hadn't opened his mouth.
We badly need President Bush's concept of a culture of life. We need to make a society in which women want the children they carry. Because abortion is so easy, and so easy to conceal, laws against it can only achieve so much. We've demonstrated the limitations of law and its enforcement with the Drug War.
There is much to be done. To do it will require a libertarian-conservative coalition whose members are agreed on general principles and who are willing to work on their differences in a spirit free of rancor. I am committed to building that coalition. Will you help?
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
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