1.4 Abortion
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.
It had to happen. Eventually I would arrive at a plank in the platform that I cannot support. This is part of the compromise we make with party politics. Not every member of the party agrees with every plank. The best party for an individual is the one that holds the most planks, provided none are so odious as to invalidate all the others.
Normally this platform would be such that I could not abide it. But, as the GOP has been completely ineffective at stemming the tide of abortion. The DNC is doing its level best to put an abortion in every womb. So then I lose nothing by holding my nose and accepting this platform.
However, the Libertarian Party should not take my practical approach as an indication that I have abandoned this issue. Should the party present two candidates, and one be pro-life, I shall weigh that heavily in my calculations.
This platform likely presents one of the biggest obstacles to real progress for the party. This platform is built on bad science, and bad reasoning, and abdicates the responsibility of its candidates. It rests on the false premise that the government has no standing in this issue, which in turn rests on the faulty science and reasoning that needs no more explanation.
The reversal of this plank shall be a lesser goal of mine.
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Pulling the opening statement from your 1.3 Personal Relationships post, "This is another area where we really need to understand that the Libertarian party is not condoning any ones actions, nor condemning them either. "
ReplyDeleteI see the Libertarian Party taking the same stance on Abortion.
It is indeed up to the individual and her personal morals wheen it comes to a decision such as this.
I have consistently stated no government has any business inside our brains, religions, bedrooms or bodies.
Dusty,
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice thought, but it completely sidesteps the entire issue at hand. The problem with abortion has never been one of personal preference or privacy, but one of murder.
The Libertarians hold that one of the governments only reason for existence is to stop the use of force. An abortion is clearly the use of force by one person upon another. The fact that the victim is unborn is of no consequence.
The Libertarians have utterly failed on the topic of abortion. To hold the position of "whatever works for you" is a feel good cop-out that really translates to "We don't want to figure it out."
There are only two possibilities. It is either murder, or it is not. If it is not, then by all means, do your thing. But if it is, then the cop-out is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to wash your hands of the dirty work. The work needs to be done to determine what effect an abortion has. Once the effect is known the Libertarian policy is clear, but until that time this approach is nothing more than an attempt to stay clear of the third rail that is the abortion issue.