With a Conservative president in the White House and a Republican-controlled congress pushing a Conservative agenda, our nation is anxiously wondering what lawmakers will do next. Among many of the fears expressed toward the Conservative platform is their stance regarding abortion rights.
While President Donald Trump has stated that the “Roe v. Wade” case “is the law” in an interview following the election, his commentary has done little to assure those who feel that abortion will find itself at the gallows due to its staunch opposition within his political base. Conservatives cite multiple reasons for their condemnation of abortion, but almost all of these reasons contradict the very standards they feel should be applied to governance.
These contradictions give birth to a paradox that could dismantle the validity of their arguments.
Conservative voters cite morality as the chief principle guiding their opposition to abortion, often falling back on religion. The United State of America, however, is supposedly a nation ruled by laws, not spirituality, eliminating God from the overall equation entirely for the sake of objectivity. Conservatives are quick to cite law and order regarding immigration, but will abandon the principle for religion in the very face of the separation of church and state.
Even human morality on the idea of murder, which Conservatives associate with abortion, is a position built upon pillars of sand. There are already acceptable conditions to ending the life of human beings: wars, self-defense, and prevention of bodily harm by those sanctioned to do so, such as the police. If one exception can be made, surely there is room for another without infringing upon the societal fabric of democracy.
There are those in the party who do not believe in any exceptions to the rules, even in instances of rape. Again, religion is evoked as a defense, postulating the pregnancy to be the result of God working through the rapist. Yet no such distinction has ever been made within the biblical text, nor would this be suitable justification in a nation run on man’s laws. In fact, the Constitution provides legal precedence in protecting abortion. By abolishing abortion, Conservatives would assassinate the line of the First Amendment that entitles Americans to “the pursuit of happiness.”
In addition to that, raising a family is costly in today’s global economy. Forcing people into parenthood hinders their ability to properly situate themselves in a position to raise their children in a fiscally stable household. Any American can agree that children raised in homes where parents aren’t struggling to get by provide a better pathway for success. If Conservatives care as much about the law as they claim, surely they could not be in favor of disturbing the First Amendment.
Perhaps nothing stands on less ground than the phrase “Get the government out of our business,” a popular chant among Conservatives, expressing their desire for smaller government. Restricting reproductive rights literally places the government inside women across the country. Going beyond rhetoric, have the Conservatives pondered the possible ramifications of overturning “Roe v. Wade?”
Removing abortion from our list of protected rights creates a ripple effect of problems in other areas. Texas has been criticized by experts and residents because its efforts to abolish abortion have left women without access to the affordable health care services that clinics which also happen to perform abortions provide. In a state where many of its major cities are separated by as much as a four-hour travel time, access is pivotal to the well-being of women who live there.
The crime rate in America also began declining with the advent of abortion, lowering the potential for problem children of broken homes. It is a trend likely to reverse with abortion’s abolition. An increase in the number of children from unplanned pregnancies would bloat the welfare system, costing the United States more annually. With more people forced together by a baby, the marriage rate, which has been notably on the decline, could see further reduction by making incompatible people cohabit. These dangers alone should be a cause of concern for anyone of any political background.
Conservatives, who consider themselves more reasonable than their Liberal counterparts, appear to be incapable of hearing claims against their long-held disdain of abortion. Last month, Tomi Lahren, a Conservative media host for “The Blaze,” was fired when she expressed a pro-choice opinion on the matter. Lahren, a controversial figure infamous for incendiary remarks, surprised many by calling anti-abortion stances hypocritical to the Conservative agenda.
In an interview with ABC’s “The View,” Lahren said, “I can’t sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government, but I think that the government should decide what women do should do with their bodies.”
Lahren went further, stating the government should “stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well.”
Instead of being lauded as a symbol of Conservative rationality, Lahren has been vilified by her own base and removed from her own show. All this begs the question, is the Conservative stance on abortion steeped in hypocrisy?