United States | News & Politics

How so? Abortion is a hotly debated topic among libertarians. Many are in favor on the grounds the women should be in complete control of whatever happens in their body. Those against point to the rights of the unborn as something to be protected as well (in a similar sense as a mentally unwell person who cannot assert their own rights).

Both sides want privacy to be maintained, and that was the grounds for Roe v Wade. I'm arguing that we should have something like Roe v Wade on the books as law that makes abortion effectively legal, but have enough protection of the fetus that it's technically illegal if there's no medical reason for it to be performed.

So in short, here's my proposed policy:

• first 20 weeks - no restrictions, and have that enshrined in law; there's too much at stake for the woman here - the only restriction is if the woman has willfully learned of the gender (again, needs to be proven without access to medical history)
• before viability - only doctors may be prosecuted, and only on the grounds of performing an abortion they knew to be medically unnecessary (must prove motive, in other words); again, no access to personal medical records, and there can maybe be a carve-out for women who didn't know they were pregnant until the second trimester
• after viability - only doctors may be prosecuted, and only on the grounds of medical necessity (as in, even an emergency delivery is impractical; doctors are held more liable since it would need to pass the "reasonable person" standard); if the mother chooses to not keep the baby, the delivery would be funded by the state

That's a pretty loose policy which prioritizes the privacy of the mother at every turn and completely allows it during the most important period (when miscarriages are high and women are learning that they're pregnant).