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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   7711 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 13, 2026

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In the framework you gave, abortion for an accidental pregnancy would be permissible, but one for an intentional pregnancy would not.

I fail to see how this is different than the current accepted practice? People intentionally getting pregnant don't then go get abortions. Abortions happen when pregnancy occurs accidentally (due to risks) or when the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.

Or in cases of fetal abnormality. These span a spectrum from absolutely non-viable cases (like anencephaly) to clearly viable babies who are likely to be severely disabled (like Down's) but Christian pro-lifers want abortion to be illegal in almost all of them and normies with an ick about abortion think they are some of the good examples of legitimate abortions.

clearly viable babies who are likely to be severely disabled (like Down's) but Christian pro-lifers want abortion to be illegal in almost all of them

I'd assume Christians are also against euthanasia of infants in these cases, so...

I suppose one can contrive a scenario where a woman could have an elective abortion refused because her prior actions indicate the pregnancy was intentional. For instance, if she took active steps to restore her fertility not long before the pregnancy; not just forgetting to take a pill or not wearing a condom, but something like reversing a tubal ligation or removing an IUD without a medical justification.

I have to wonder how rare those scenarios are though.

I think that would be an actually interesting philosophical question, especially if we examine our response to other situations where people engage in actions intentionally that effect other people but then change their mind. In some situations like contract law, we enforce the prior agreement, but in others like a promise to aid or a charitable donation we don't enforce compliance.

It's a question of how much bodily autonomy you have depending on the cost of your bodily autonomy on other people.

I’m guessing some number of abortions are because the mother changes her mind, and it seems very counterintuitive to say that the intent of the parents influences the morality of the abortion.

To be clear, I’m broadly pro-choice, but I don’t think sex and pregnancy can be neatly decoupled, any more than driving and car crashes can.

I mean I don't think they can be neatly decoupled, one is a risk that is of the other. But we as a society accept other risk pairings as both legally correct and morally ok. This idea that babies are the direct and singular causal response to sex is just not based in reality. Pretending it is, is an attempt at motivated reasoning. Which I was calling out.

EDIT:

I’m guessing some number of abortions are because the mother changes her mind

I suppose this is probably true, I do wonder what the breakdown in cases between the three would be. Regardless I am pretty pro-choice from a fairly radical bodily autonomy perspective.

Regardless I am pretty pro-choice from a fairly radical bodily autonomy perspective.

Funny, from the same principle I believe the reverse: „Every child wants to be born“; the body of another human being is harmed (well, murdered) -> This is anathema.

#Libertarians. Ask 10 Libertarians for an opinion and get 13 answers.

The body of human is being enslaved for another -> this is anathema.

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