It’s Time To Finally Legalize Post-Birth Abortion

Editor’s Note: Because the internet is filled with foolish and utterly dishonest people, the editors of The Daily Wire wish to note that this column utilizes a literary device called sarcasm. Those who feel themselves incapable of understanding sarcasm should read something else — perhaps the alleged humor of Hannah Gadsby.

Like any compassionate American, I was overjoyed by the news that New York had legalized abortion through every stage of pregnancy. My eyes welled with tears as the World Trade Center shone pink in celebration of the momentous occasion. How appropriate that a building erected in defiance of Islamic terrorism would now stand in defiance of fetal terrorism.

But as I thought more deeply about the issue, I began to see that this law is not quite the victory for freedom and autonomy that I first imagined. It is a good start, but there is much more work to be done. The law allows for a fetus to be terminated at any stage so long as the procedure is needed to protect the life or health of the mother. This qualification is in itself problematic because it puts someone else — likely a man — in the position of judging whether a woman’s reason for procuring an abortion is “acceptable.” No person other than the woman herself can make such a determination.

Perhaps this is a minor problem. Indeed, “health” can mean anything whatsoever. Emotional health, physical health, psychological health, financial health, spiritual health. An abortion is always a matter of preserving health in some form. The authors of the bill obviously wrote it intending that the “restrictions” would restrict no one. It is an admirable effort, yet there is something else to consider.

If a woman decides to end her pregnancy in the third trimester, she is still (sadly) going to have to deal with labor and delivery. The fetus is treated with a fatal dose of medication administered by an injection into its skull and then, after a few days, the woman gives birth to the now terminated fetus. But how is it in the best interest of the woman to administer this dose to the fetus while it is still inside her? Isn’t it a further infringement on her autonomy that she be forced to go through such a procedure? And doesn’t it needlessly put her at risk? Wouldn’t it be more consistent with the pro-choice ethic to evacuate the fetus and then administer the treatment? How do we help and respect the woman by arbitrarily subjecting her to such a physically and emotionally taxing process?

It will be objected that a fetus prior to birth is inside the woman while the fetus after birth is outside. Yes, and so? We have already established that the fetus has no rights of its own. Only the mother’s wellbeing matters here, and her wellbeing would be better served by a post-birth procedure. Let us remember, again, why abortion is good and necessary in the first place:

(1)The woman’s autonomy must be respected.

(2) The fetus is dependent on his mother and thus not a person.

(3) If the fetus is not aborted, it will just become an unwanted child, and we already have enough of those to deal with.

This is essentially the whole argument. And it is a good argument. But every single point applies just as much — perhaps more — to post-birth procedures.

Now you may ask: if we allow post-birth abortions, where do we draw the line? Well, it is not up to us to draw lines, first of all. Abortion is a decision between a woman and her doctor. Nobody is forcing you to get one.

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