Is the Right pro-family or anti-abortion?

The Corner has an interesting discussion of a post by HalfSigma suggesting that being pro-choice makes you pro-family.  HalfSigma argues that single motherhood is the largest contemporary threat to the family and that abortion cuts down on single motherhood.  So, the logic goes, If abortion as a policy leads to pro-family outcomes, than being pro-choice is one way to express pro-family tendencies.

The Corner folks, not surprisingly, go wild in response.  The more philosophical posts comes from Andy McCarthy and Jonah Goldberg.  McCarthy, correctly points out that “opposition to abortion is a moral position. It’s not a strategic position that you tweak to get a better [pro-family] outcome.”  In other words, the Right is not anti-abortion because it leads to pro-family outcomes; they are anti-abortion because they are anti-abortion.

But the Right also claims to be pro-family, so HalfSigma’s argument is worth considering: in being anti-abortion, the Right is anti-family, to a degree.  The question is which are they more: pro-family or anti-abortion?  Goldberg responds: “I’m perfectly fine conceding that abortion would help to alleviate some of the problems associated with single motherhood, but I don’t see why people so often think this is a blockbuster argument that’s going to change peoples’ minds [regarding abortion].”  Goldberg’s answer: more anti-abortion than pro-family.

-Marc

Related posts:

  1. Is gay marriage pro-family?
  2. Abortion and liberalism
  3. Is health care pro-family?
  4. Abortion, disability, a Republican star
  5. Yes, we are glad Tim Tebow is here

November 6, 2009 · Filed Under Family, Marc

Share

Comments

2 Responses to “Is the Right pro-family or anti-abortion?”

  1. Is gay marriage pro-family? : The Public Philosopher on November 9th, 2009 12:03 pm

    [...] Friday, I linked to a discussion on The Corner about whether abortion could be a pro-family policy.  Today, I wonder, [...]

  2. Is health care pro-family? : The Public Philosopher on November 13th, 2009 10:08 am

    [...] the string of progressive policies with pro-family implications, the New York Times Health blog has an article on a study [...]

Leave a Reply




  • Editors

    Jacob Bronsther is a law student at NYU, a former Fulbright Scholar to Mauritius, and a graduate of Cornell University. He has an MPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford.

  • Sam Gill is a consultant in Washington and a graduate of the University of Chicago. He studied Political Theory at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

  • Marc Grinberg is a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. government and a graduate of Princeton University. He earned an MPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford.

  • John Rood is the founder of Next Step Test Preparation and a graduate of Michigan State University. He has an AM in Political Theory from the University of Chicago.

  • Luke Freedman is a student at Carleton College, pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Political Science.


  • Sign up for the TPP Weekly Rewind



  •

  • Share us