Abortion opponents like to analogize their crusade to the prohibition of slavery. Well, they would, wouldn’t they? It puts them on the right side of history. But is there a basis for it?
It has to be admitted that the two issues have features in common: both are moral/philosophical questions with very high stakes and rabid partisans. But they differ in two significant ways:
- SCIENCE: There was never any legitimate scientific basis for claiming that slaves were inherently inferior to their white masters. On abortion, the claim that a fertilized egg is a human being is a purely religious proposition. Functionally speaking, it isn’t. Period.
- FREEDOM: The abolitionists were fighting for freedom. The anti-abortion crowd’s objective is to reduce freedom for pregnant women. If they succeed in overturning Roe, you will consequently see something like an Underground Railroad for poor women living in red states. That tells you everything you need to know if maximizing freedom is one of your priorities.
And so, in the end, it is the differences in the two issues that are more significant than the similarities.