There was a time not so long ago when society shamed women who birthed a child out of wedlock, when families ostracised their unmarried daughters, and even discriminated against the child, referring to it as a bastard. At that time people, families and even governments were a lot poorer and so could not afford to support unmarried mothers raising a baby or child. Since abortions were illegal at that time, many women had abortions performed by ‘backyard butchers’ and suffered horrible injuries as a result. As society became more affluent and governments raised more in taxes, society wanted pregnant women who wanted to abort their baby to have that performed safely in a hospital and with the best medical care. The prevalent view was that abortions should be safe, legal and rare.
While that view may have had sound justification at the time, it is no longer justifiable. Our society no longer, and has not for decades, put shame on unwed mothers or their children, and is willing to provide financial and other support to unwed mothers and their children. Society is so concerned about our low birth rate, a rate well below sustainable levels, that we have turned to immigration to solve the problem and grow our population. Rather than relying on immigration, society would prefer young men and women to start families. More importantly, while the intention was for abortion to be safe, legal and rare, it is anything but rare. A staggering number of abortions are performed annually in Australia, some stating it to be in the region of 80,000 to 90,000. Consider that for a few seconds, that’s 80,000 to 90,000 unborn babies killed every year. That is unacceptable.
Classic Liberals believes that a woman’s right to bodily autonomy does not extend to killing an unborn child and believes that the position that on one day an abortion is legal but not on the next is nonsensical.
In line with Classic Liberals’ principle that government should trat adults as capable of making their own decisions, men and women should accept responsibility for pregnancies and child raising. There are many contraception options for those wanting to avoid pregnancies.
It believes that life begins at conception, that all life is valuable, that unborn babies have rights and their lives are worth protecting. A Classic Liberals government will therefore not permit abortions – unless the mother’s (physical) health is at grave risk.