Many people, including many conservatives who themselves oppose abortion, seem to believe that, because I am a libertarian, I must support abortion. This is not the case. A libertarian is, most concisely, someone who believes that force can only justly be used against people who have violated the human rights of another person. The standard definition of human rights is “life, liberty, and property”. Therefore, to kill another person violates his human rights and does constitute a legal wrong from the libertarian perspective.
It is not my purpose here to delve into the definition of humanity, and my reasons for believing that all babies are human, regardless of age. Suffice it to say that if one does believe that babies are human, then to kill a baby is murder, and should be punished. Therefore, a social conservative who believes that babies are human (encompassing all opponents of abortion I have ever met) cannot object to libertarianism because it demands support for abortion.
This also cuts through much of the rather twisted rhetoric on abortion by pro-abortion libertarians. The issue is not about whether or not one supports a women’s right to choose, or whether one believes in liberty, it is simply about the definition of humanity. Libertarians wishing to convince others that abortion should be legal must therefore cease framing the issue in terms of liberty, must cease treating abortion as a necessary belief of consistent libertarianism, and must prepare to debate the definition of life.
Posted by Dissenter 
