Rand Paul and Abortion

[rbt48]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

He's also against pot legalization and gay marriage, and pals with racists like Cliven Bundy. He's a paleoconservative, not a libertarian.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

[DrScholl]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Those two views sort of cancel each other out. A lot conservatives like to call themselves libertarian because it sounds good to some voters, but they are really just social conservatives.

[Pyro]

"Government small enough to fit into your uterus."

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

If he believes it is taking a human life, then is what is the contradiction?  I mean, so long as he's not saying he's going to wiretap the phones of pregnant women to make sure the don't call an abortion clinic...

[Famous Mortimer]

Both the pro-life and pro-choice positions are compatible with libertarianism. If you don't understand how, you are a dullard.

[Higgs]

Both the pro-life and pro-choice positions are compatible with libertarianism. If you don't understand how, you are a dullard.

Agreed. Do people not understand that not everyone sees personhood the same way?

If a libertarian believes a fetus is a human being then it is completely consistent with their ideology to believe said fetus has rights.

(this is my view btw)

[tpfkaw]

Perhaps, instead of trying to make square pegs fit into every ideological round hole, people might do well to consider the triviality of their own existences on a cosmic scale, and the absurdity of the entire concept of any of us humans having somehow created a way of thinking that is realer than objective reality.

The abortion debate in particular is just swimming in bad faith and metaphysical falsehoods.  It would be so, so much improved if everyone dropped the collective insanity and simply admitted the honest truth:

1. Fetuses are human (like, duh).
2. "Rights" are made of feels, not reals (like, duh).

Now, man's locked in a room his whole life, might be kinda scary to come out.  But, just for the sake of your own intellectual growth, try for a moment to throw out all the assumptions you've made about the subject and proceed from the above two.  Do you still arrive at the same conclusion?  "It makes me feel better" is as good an argument as any other, by the way.

[ElectionsGuy]

Both the pro-life and pro-choice positions are compatible with libertarianism. If you don't understand how, you are a dullard.

Yes.

[useful idiot]

He's also against pot legalization and gay marriage, and pals with racists like Cliven Bundy. He's a paleoconservative, not a libertarian.

Is he really against pot legalization? In the same way Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were against gay marriage? Being pals with racists (esp anti-semites) isn't exclusive to any of part of the left-right-libertarian-authoritarian spectrum. His stated marriage position is that it shouldn't be a government function, and we know that has always been his position regardless, which is as libertarian as it gets on the issue.

Although libertarians could be pro-choice or pro-life, I would say a position on Roe v. Wade does say something about your libertarianism. I don't know that following the rationale of Roe v. Wade is consistent with traditional American libertarianism, because as with Obergefell, it makes a farce of the Constitution. I would say any libertarian could support legalized abortion, or even gay marriage (if a moderate libertarian), on the state level or some other more localized level.

Conflating social libertarianism with social liberalism, which are as different from one another as old-school social conservatism is from social libertarianism, is just silly. This is especially true now that social liberalism has become incredibly authoritarian, in the way that traditional social conservatism (which is dead as a major force) once was.

[Clark Kent]

It depends on whether you consider a fetus to be a person or not. If you do, it's essentially ehe same as libertarians supporting keeping murder illegal.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Because he's trying to win on the republican ticket?

[Kingpoleon]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Are you anti-SSM too?

If so, I'd advise you to change your avatar to "Tea Party".

[Clark Kent]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Are you anti-SSM too?

If so, I'd advise you to change your avatar to "Tea Party".

What does SSM have to do with abortion?

[Leinad]

It depends on whether you consider a fetus to be a person or not. If you do, it's essentially ehe same as libertarians supporting keeping murder illegal.

Basically this. The libertarian philosophy is more nuanced than letting people do whatever the heck they want to do. Libertarians are just as against the ending of a life as everyone else, so if you think personhood begins at conception, it fits into the ideology as much as being pro-marijuana legalization does.

And don't think for a second everyone who's against abortion has that position because of a "Biblical worldview." Conservatives always like to mix in that with gay marriage as "moral issues," which is irratating because, to me, simple common sense leads one to oppose abortion--just as it does to support gay marriage, drug legalization/decriminalization, abolition of the death penalty, and a less interventionist foreign policy.

[tpfkaw]

Rand is obviously pro-pot legalization, even if he won't publicly say so.  He (unsuccessfully) filibustered the bill to ban "bath salts" a few years ago.

[TJ in Oregon]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Because he's trying to win on the republican ticket?

Perhaps, but I suspect his pro-life views are genuine. His father was an outspoken pro-life OBGYN so there's probably a personal component to it.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Are you anti-SSM too?

If so, I'd advise you to change your avatar to "Tea Party".

You are aware one can oppose SSM and be a Libertarian. My avatar stays as it is unless Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, or Marco Rubio get the GOP nomination.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Are you anti-SSM too?

If so, I'd advise you to change your avatar to "Tea Party".

You are aware one can oppose SSM and be a Libertarian. My avatar stays as it is unless Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, or Marco Rubio get the GOP nomination.

Why Marco Rubio?

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

I'm perplexed why Rand Paul is against abortion.  To the extent his is a libertarian, one would think that he would let the individual decide for herself whether to abort a pregnancy.  I did note that Ron Paul was also pro-life which also seems counter to a libertarian approach. 

For Rand, running in Kentucky as a pro-choicer would be a ticket to defeat, but I wouldn't have thought of Rand Paul as one who would be inclined to take pragmatic approaches to various controversial issues.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Not all Libertarians are pro-abortion. There are folks (like myself) who are both libertarian and have a Biblical worldview which the Paul's do.

Are you anti-SSM too?

If so, I'd advise you to change your avatar to "Tea Party".

You are aware one can oppose SSM and be a Libertarian. My avatar stays as it is unless Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, or Marco Rubio get the GOP nomination.

Why Marco Rubio?

Senate version of Scott Walker