"Recognizing that each person must be the sole and absolute owner of his or her own body, we support the right of women to make a personal choice regarding the termination of pregnancy."
from the National Platform of the Libertarian Party
Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in contemporary American politics.
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Texas law prohibiting abortion on the basis that it interfered with the Right to Privacy of the pregnant woman. The central role of the Right to Privacy in the Roe v Wade decision has informed the strategy of the anti-abortion forces in recent years.
So-called pro-life leaders now deny that the Constitution guarantees a Right to Privacy. The attack on the Right to Privacy was at the center of Republican strategy during the debate over the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
Robert Bork took the most extreme anti-rights position of any nominee for the Supreme Court in U.S. history. He held that the Constitution is an unlimited grant of power to the Federal Government. Mr Bork stated that the government has all powers not specifically denied to it in the Constitution; individuals have only those rights specifically stated in the Constitution.
The Libertarian view the Constitution as a limited grant of power to the government. The Federal Government has only those powers specifically stated in the Constitution; Americans have those rights specifically stated, and all other rights not specifically limited by the Constitution.
The Ninth Amendment clearly states that "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Conservatives once stood for limited government. How can a government can be limited if it has power over a woman's reproductive system? Conservative support for Robert Bork shows that they are willing to sacrifice the concept of limited government in order to bring back anti-abortion laws.
Opponents of abortion sometimes state that the issue is a conflict of rights - the right of the woman versus the right of the unborn child. Yet their proposals if enacted would totally eliminate the rights of the woman in the matter.
The Libertarian Party offers an alternative for pro-choice Republicans and others seeking a truly limited government.