Can you be libertarian and pro life

It's been popping up more often lately as liberal writers look for ways to criticize Sen. Rand Paul, as in this Salon piece , where the author says Paul and his father "have always played fast and loose with their libertarian principles when it comes to reproductive health. The unstated premise on which that statement relies is that No True Libertarian could also be against abortion.

But in reality, it's not the case that all libertarians believe women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy. More to the point, it's flatly incorrect to suggest that opposition to legal abortion is irreconcilable with the belief system that places a person in the libertarian camp. What is true is that most libertarians—at least historically—have held pro-choice views.

Stated otherwise, as recently as , a six-in-ten majority of libertarians thought women should be able to legally get an abortion. Here at Reason that tendency has been even more pronounced, with the magazine's editorial staff overwhelmingly favoring a right to legal abortion.

You've probably seen my colleague Elizabeth Nolan Brown's writing on the subject , including her recent quasi-defense of Planned Parenthood. From the general tenor of our coverage of this issue over the years, one might get the impression that most if not all prominent libertarians support the so-called "right to choose. Yes, libertarians tilt pro-choice. But as a young, female, pro-life Roman Catholic who also happens to identify as libertarian and who works for a magazine dedicated to free minds and free markets , I'm always rather dismayed when someone on the far side of the political universe professes to be an authority on what "consistent libertarianism" requires.

From my perspective, the consistent libertarian position on abortion is contingent—it depends whether you believe the entity developing in the womb counts as a human being.

I accept that some people don't think it does. And if I were one of them, I'd probably be pro-choice too. Like many libertarians, a fundamental question I use to adjudicate whether an act should be considered a crime is whether or not it has a victim.

Drug use? Consensual prostitution? Working for less than the wage some politician has decided should be the legislatively mandated minimum? Finally, I found somebody who looked promising: Jennifer Grossman. Who can conceivably have the right to dictate to her what disposition she is to make of the functions of her own body? Who, indeed? Not a bunch of Texas politicians, one would think! Unfathomably, I could find absolutely nothing about the Texas abortion law.

I went over to the Atlas Society website, where she blogs. There were some interesting musings about women, including an account of an alarming weekend she spent with the predator Jeffrey Epstein, whom she briefly considered dating. I saw some strong stuff about the badness of sexual harassment, and plenty of female empowerment messages. So there you have it. Try as I might, I could not find a single influential libertarian exerting their influence on behalf of the freedom of the women of Texas.

Despite the majority of libertarians who say they are pro-choice. I would like to be wrong. Please let me know if you see any influential libertarians in the media protesting the Texas outrage.

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Outlaw abortion in all circumstances. Federal government shouldn't be involved. Personally pro life, but always in favor of giving more freedom of choice when given the chance. Pro choice up until conception and pro life after conception. Abortion should be mandatory for anyone with an IQ under No government involvement.

Individual personal choice for personal protection. Abortion is ethically abhorrent if sole intent is to end the life of the fetus. It may be morally permissible if intent is to save the life of the mother, though it is still tragic.

Government may have the right to ban abortion, but this would be very difficult to enforce. Prohibition is rarely an effective tool unless an injured party can report the crime. Pro-life, plus criminalize the killing of any human embryo one minute after conception. Pro personal responsibility. If you have consensual sex and get pregnant, it is your responsibility to carry the child to term and either raise it or find an adoptive parent. Evictionist, allowed to "evict" child from womb, but if child is viable, not allowed to kill child.

It's good for crime and poverty control. Give a fathers choice to his right to life with the child except in cases of rape or incest. Then determine the best determination for resiliency of the child. It's sexist against men. Pro choice, but require husband permission. I think both parents should have an equal say whether or not they becom ea parent. I am Pro-life. Individuals should be held personally responsible for the life and support of children they bring into this world through their decision to have sex, even those unborn.

Birth control should be made more easily accessible, by removing Pro-choice, but it's up to a woman or a couple to provide their own birth control or pay for an abortion with their own money or with non-government-funded sources.

Those who believe that abortion is immoral should not be forced to support it Abortion should not be a government issue. It should be left up to the individual. No questions ruing first trimester, counseling before procedure in second trimester, no third trimester abortions unless the mother's life is threatened.

Mandatory non abortion birth control education in all schools and serious punishment for those You can't legistrate a persons body. I believe that it is a medical issue. The sanctity of the doctor patient privilege should trump the States ability to intrude on a private medical matter. In a perfect world doctors would only perform abortions as a necessity to save a life, but in our It's not a government or public issue.