The Morality of Abortion

Damon Linker, following up on his earlier post about the end of the culture wars, offers a useful insight:

"A final point. As a (moderate) liberal, I feel the force of the classic rallying cry with which Ed ends his post: "Oppose abortion? Don't have one!" We liberals love this argument because it makes us feel like we're being morally neutral on the issue: whereas abortion opponents want to force all women into one box, the pro-choice position can be affirmed by those who for moral reasons would never choose to have an abortion as well as by those who wish to undertake the procedure. Who but a misogynistic tyrant could argue with such an open-minded position?

But here's the problem: the position isn't morally neutral at all. Consider: Can you think of any other matter in which the state grants individuals the right to determine for themselves what does and what does not constitute murder? Of course not. It only does so on the issue of abortion because (since Roe) the Constitution implicitly denies the humanity of the fetus. Don't think so? How would you feel about a slogan like this: "Oppose slavery? Don't own one!" You'd probably find it morally offensive. Why? Because you think that owning slaves is just plain wrong and that failing to publicly affirm this principle is tantamount to saying that owning slaves is a matter of moral indifference."

Linker has a point, but certainly there are more than two sides to the moral debate. Comparing the issue to slavery is a bit inaccurate because the crushing moral inequality is borne only by the slave, not by his/her master. When it comes to abortion the moral, and physical, burden is shared by both mother and fetus.

Choosing not to have an abortion is different than choosing not to own a slave because if you choose not to own a slave, then your responsiblity ends -- you simply don't own one and you go about your business. If a woman chooses not to have an abortion, then she bears the emotional and physical responsibilities of bearing and rearing a child.

I'm not saying that I'm disagreeing with Linker's point that the abortion issue is a moral one. I'm just saying that I think the issue is a bit more dynamic than he makes it out to be.