St Michael Society

A few weeks ago, the blogosphere exploded with comments and debates over a tweet sent out by Penelope Trunk, the 42-year-old chief executive of a blog called Brazen Careerist.  What was all the fuss about?  Well, Trunk tweeted:

“I’m in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there’s a f—– -up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin.” 

Penelope Trunk Tweeted about her frustration over abortion restrictions

It seems fairly obvious that Trunk’s attitude exemplifies the vice of selfishness and the disregard for nascent human life that have become cornerstones of our contemporary culture of death.  The “implicit rights” argument that Trunk utilizes is perhaps less obvious.  In a follow-up interview on CNN, Trunk insisted that her tweet was a positive thing in that it started a conversation about a woman’s right to an abortion, and how states are systematically trying to restrict that right.  According to Trunk’s logic, states like Wisconsin are trampling on a woman’s right to an abortion – not protecting the woman or innocent human life.  Trunk’s position is not unique, but it begs several questions, including whether the right to an abortion is absolute. 

After all, no other right in American history has been considered absolute by the Supreme Court.  For example, free speech isn’t absolute, because you cannot yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater if there is really no fire.  Likewise, while I have the right to bear arms, there are certain weapons that I cannot purchase or that I must have a permit to carry.  Even my right to life or liberty can be taken away if the crime that I commit is serious enough. 

Yet Trunk, and other abortion proponents, pretend like the right to an abortion is an absolute right.  But, if no right is absolute, then neither is the so-called right to an abortion.  States can restrict access to abortion or place other limitations on it just as they limit other rights.  And this is the problem with the argument that abortion is a right, and where pro-abortion advocates paint themselves into a corner. 

If governments can grant the right to abortion, then governments can change it or revoke it at will.  Unfortunately, Trunk and others do not realize that asserting that women have the “right to an abortion” does not end the debate.  It just opens the door to discussions about when, if, and how abortion will be restricted.  If they trust the government to create rights, then they need to trust governments to restrict it or even end it. 

They must learn that if you live by the right you die by the right—innocent children have been for years. 

– Christopher Gross