Defense of a Pro-Life Libertarian

As a Libertarian I have been slammed from both sides of the “political aisle.”  Being a Confessional and Reformed Christian, some of my harshest critics, however, have come from my Christian friends on the Right.  Their contention has been primarily centered around the Libertarian Party’s position on abortion.  From my experience, the common belief seems to be that the Libertarian Party is pro-abortion.  It is not.  Section 1.4 of the Libertarian Party's platform states:

“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.”

This position does allow the possibility for a Libertarian to be pro-abortion.  It also allows for one to be pro-life, as well.  However, Section 1.4 most accurately represents the pro-choice Libertarian; one who is personally pro-life, but believes one has the right to make a choice.  I hold to neither the pro-abortion or pro-choice positions.  Being pro-life, I believe the unborn child is an individual and should be afforded the same right to life as one who has already been born.  The party platform states under “Statement of Principles” that:

“…individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal rights of others to live in whatever manner they choose.”

A pro-life Libertarian views abortion as an infringement on the right to life for the unborn, who are the ultimate voiceless minority in any society.  The Libertarian Party takes great pride in rejecting the historical premise that “the State has the right to dispose of the lives of individuals.”  I, therefore, find the pro-abortion and even pro-choice positions to be inherently anti-libertarian.  Abortion simply is the most totalitarian act any individual could ever make.  While the State should not have the right to dispose of the lives of individuals, neither should an individual.  The Libertarian Party is the penultimate anti-government party and yet concedes that a legitimate use of government is to uphold prohibition of murder.

I disagree with Libertarian Party platform Section 1.4.  I am still a Libertarian and will remain so for the foreseeable future.  One can be a member of a political party without agreeing with every single tenet and action of that party.  I sincerely doubt that Christian Republicans and Democrats want to kill or ruin the lives of their Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East, yet their party’s foreign policies have done just that.  I would hardly call a Republican or Democrat a persecutor of Christians even though their foreign policy says otherwise.