Abortion: a horrible dilemma for liberals

Last night, MPs rejected calls to reduce the 24 week limit on abortion.

On most issues, I have no problem in determining my political and moral positions. My libertarian instincts point me in the direction that individuals should make their own moral choices and I despise the idea that the state should make moral choices for us. Of course, there are cases where the actions of one individual can infringe on the liberty of another and that is the reason we need the rule of law.

But abortion is different. The key question is when do the rights of the expectant mother end and those of the unborn child begin. Unless you oppose the concept of contraception, there can be no moral absolutes.

It is for this reason that it can be difficult to understand how the advocates for reducing the limits can be so passionate in their arguments. It is because they are being disingenuous: their real motive is to criminalise abortion altogether and a reduction in the time limit is seen as a step in that direction.

Despite this, I would still support a reduction in the time limit for four reasons.

First, the features of a foetus at 24 weeks is indisputably human. Anyone that has witnessed scans at 12 weeks will know that isn’t the case at the earlier stages of a pregnancy.

Second, there are cases where children born at less than 24 weeks have survived. While this remains a rarity, survival is still possible.

Third, if there are going to be abortions, they should happen sooner rather than later.

Finally, an unintended consequence of the abortion laws has been that abortion has become seen by some women as a form of contraception. Of course, this is not the case for the vast majority of cases and the decision for most women that go through the process must be one that they will reflect on for the rest of their lives. But the sheer number of abortions now carried out, particularly the number of women having multiple abortions, must be a concern for policy makers.

As in other instances where there is no party whip, the quality of the House of Commons debate was substantially higher than is usually the case. Outside, the public debate has been far more polarised.

My views are not fixed on the matter and I am open to the arguments. But for me, the supporters of keeping the status quo never adequately explained why more than 20 weeks (that is five months of a pregnancy) is needed to decide whether to go ahead with an abortion.