Traditionally, conservatives have been against abortion and the notion of legalizing abortion in the first place. However, some people who have used abortion are also conservatives. This begs the question, can you be a pro-choice conservative?
And if such people are conservatives, what are their views and how do they differ from other types of conservatism?
Difference Between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life
Before we can do anything, we need to know what the difference between pro-choice and pro-life are.
Pro-Choice
Pro-choice is what many people on the left tend to be. Pro-choice is sometimes called the pro-abortion movement or the abortion rights movement.
As this implies, they believe in the right to choose. They believe that it is a woman’s right to decide whether she wants the child or not.
They believe that it isn’t the government’s place to tell them what they can and can’t do with their body. They also believe that the use of contraception, and pre-marital sex are ok, where pro-lifers do not.
They believe that by making abortion illegal they will only encourage people to do it illegally, making it potentially fatal.
Pro-Life
Pro-life is what most traditional and paleoconservatives tend to be. Pro-life is sometimes called anti-abortion.
As the name implies, they believe firmly in the life of the child and the mother. They believe that no matter what, once conception happens, that child should be born and grow up to have a natural life.
Mostly, this is thanks to religion. Most major world religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam have tenants against abortion, believing that God (or some higher power) helped to give the embryo life.
Traditional Views on it
Traditionally speaking, conservatives, and many people on the left, have been staunchly against the notion of abortion.
Whenever a bill was placed on the table, many traditional conservatives, and even some neoconservatives have killed it.
They believe that abortion is tantamount to murder, and any doctor who performs abortions should be considered a murderer. And as with other murderers, they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
They believe that if abortion is open to everyone, that it will be abused. So, in order to combat that, the made sure that abortion was illegal in all sense of the word. No one, regardless of who they are, can access abortion.
Many notable US Presidents have had this traditionalist view on abortion. Presidents including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush have had this stance.
‘Modern’ Views on it
The ‘modern’ views on it are both quite different and quite similar.
Some people still have very similar views on abortion to the traditionalist views. Many of these people have joined or helped to set up organizations such as Right for Life or Live Action.
Well known pundits and politicians such as President Trump have these traditional views on abortion. In fact, when many people criticized Alabama in May 2019, for criminalizing abortion, Trump supported it.
However, many more people have adopted a viewpoint that is more accepting of abortion. In most towns and cities in the Anglosphere, if you were to ask people about their views on abortion, they would be more positive than negative.
Most younger people have a belief that abortion is good, however, should be regulated to avoid it being abused. They often believe that if a woman is raped or there is a severe risk to both the mother and the child’s life, then abortion is ok.
However, since 1972, and the outcome of the infamous Roe vs Wade, abortion has been legal in all US States.
However, in May 2019, Alabama voted to make abortion illegal once again, citing that it was unconstitutional. However, this led to a large amount of public outrage and criticism from the media and global communities.
Can you be a Pro-Choice Conservative?
Pro-choice conservatives do exist indeed. In fact, up to 80% of conservatives support abortion becoming legal in the US and a similar number in the UK!
Despite this large number of conservatives who seem to support legalizing abortion, this number is quite misleading. Whilst 80% may seem like a majoirty of conservatives, it isn’t really…
80% is just a number of people surveyed. Many areas, especially in the rural south of the US, or certain parts of London, will have a much lower rate. A more sensible estimate is usually 50%.
And yes, many pro-choice conservatives do exist. Many are very outspoken about their beliefs.
However, many traditional conservatives, especially religious conservatives and paleoconservatives are against pro-choice conservatives. Often, if they meet, there is a debate about abortion.
Both religious and paleoconservatives believe that it is not only immoral but against the will of God. They believe that if people allow it, God will punish them in the afterlife, ie. he will send them to hell.
Not only that, but God will send anyone who helps the cause or supports it too!
How do Their Views Differ?
As with other types of “fringe” conservative groups, including gay conservatives, their views often differ from main conservative viewpoints. Whilst some of them are only small differences, others are quite major!
Anti-Anti-Abortion Laws
Perhaps a place where pro-choice conservatives butt heads with their pro-life conservative counterparts. Many pro-life conservatives, and even some conservatives want their to be strong anti-abortion laws.
They believe that if the laws are strong enough, it will dissuade people form being irresponsible and abusing abortion.
However, their pro-choice compatriots believe that there should be pro-abortion laws passed into law. Naturally, they also want to prevent what happened in Alabama in 2019 from happening again.
As such, they hope to have it enshrined in law that it is illegal for any state to make abortion illegal in their state. However, this is perhaps only a few percent of pro-choice conservatives who believe this.
Small Government
There is also a large emphasis on small government. Whilst this may be a mainstay of typical conservatism, it is changed every so slightly with pro-choice conservatism.
Conservatives often believe that it is no place for the government to decide what a person does in their home. However, in pro-choice conservatism, they believe that and that the government has no rights over their citizens.
That’s not to say that the government should get rid of all of their laws. But that is to say that the government should not have any jurisdiction on what a person does with their own body.
This includes abortion, but also sex, drugs and prostitution. And they believe quite strongly that these should be legalized sooner rather than later. And this is something that is recurring throughout their beliefs!
Same Sex Marriage
Because of their strong belief in there being small government, they also believe strongly in the right to same sex marriage.
Because of their belief in the fact that the government shouldn’t intervene in what private citizens do with their bodies, they also believe that this applies to the bedroom too.
Just as they believe that prostitution should be legal, they also believe that people should be free to marry whoever they want. That is even the case if they are two of the same gender!
Minority Rights
Just as with same sex marriage, they also tend to believe firmly in minorities’ rights. They believe that without everyone being born into an equal footing (although not being to the degree of socialism) society cannot function.
They also understand that if minorities do not have sufficient rights and privileges, they are the ones who are mostly likely to need abortions.
So instead of trying to punish them for needing abortions, they’d rather give them the rights to minorities which enable them to better their lives.
The results will be productive members of society who don’t need to use abortion, as they have planned for when they’ll have kids. Therefore, there is no chance that they’ll abuse it, as they’ll never need it in the first place!
It will also prevent impoverished men from turning to partying and rape. This is thanks to the fact that they’ll be too busy at university studying or being a productive member of society.
Lax(er) Laws
Many pro-choice conservatives believe that there should be laxer laws surrounding drugs, prostitution and abortion. They believe that by making it illegal, they make it more difficult for everyone involved.
By making it illegal, and having strong laws enforcing them, they also only make them more popular too! They believe that it is this popularity that makes them subject to abuse.
So by making laws on abortion more lax, they will encourage people to use them, but only when it is necessary. They also believe that by introducing even basic regulation, that they will prevent those who wish to abuse it!
Notable Pro-Choice Conservatives
There are several incredibly notable conservatives who identify as being pro-choice. Whilst this is not an extensive list by any means, perhaps the most famous and notbale are:
- Tomi Lahren
- David Cameron
- Ann Stone
- Theresa May
- Betty Ford
- Nadine Dorries
- Jeremy Hunt
What do you think about pro-choice conservatives? Tell me in the comments!