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Ayn Rand & Abortion pt. 2

March 15, 2009 by  

Ayn Rand believed that an embryo is equal to nail clippings or hair clippings. She believed that until the fetus is capable of surviving outside the womb it is not to be considered a human. So, technically until the child reaches the middle of the second trimester (twenty-three weeks) it is not to be considered a human and the rights that are conferred upon by its nation do not apply to it.
She believed until that juncture abortion should not be regulated.
Before the twenty-third week, it is a personal matter and not a legislative one.
 
Moreover, she cited economic reasons as justifications for abortion. Which leads one to ponder her beliefs on eugenics.
 
AHS response:

Ayn Rand is essentially correct. Abortion is a personal matter. The federal government should have no jurisdiction on that subject. However, the state governments are well within their rights to regulate abortion. However, Ayn Rand denigrates those that would state that life starts at conception for placing the life marker at the very beginning of the gestational period. On the other hand, Ayn Rand has chosen to place the life’s demarcation at the twenty-third week (and most likely in her time the thirtieth week).

Our medical science has not come far enough to conclusively state when “life” starts. So, on one hand one group states life starts at the beginning, the other states life starts at the third trimester. As one group errs on the side of possibility of life, the other errs

on the side of potential extermination. This ambiguity is why abortion for the

individual level is a personal matter.

Since abortion is a very volatile subject, if states are to institute laws, they would do well to institute laws that protect the fetus at the start of the second trimester. That is probably the must judicious way to have a “law of the land”. During the first trimester, it should be left to the mother and family on the fate of the embryo. Hopefully and God willing, they will err on the side of the possibility of life.

 

 

 

 

 

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