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
Visit the Palace Of Reason: http://palaceofreason.com
Andy Melechinsky! I met Andy many years ago when I was just starting out as a libertarian evangelist.
I think I heard that he passed away a few years ago. If anyone has ever stood at the Judgement with a clear record on the matter of living a life of direct resistance to the violence of the state and not just standing by tolerating the violence of the state--it was Andy Melechinsky.
The state would send their soldiers after Andy, and he would go just limp and force them to drag him away. And then he'd grind them down with the common law and trial by jury--where the citizens declare their rights vis-a-vis the government and not the other way around.