Responding to the "Forced Pregnancy" Meme

 Sometimes I see people repeating some slogan and think, "That is so stupid.  Is that really going to catch on?"  But there comes a point where you have to admit that it did catch on - and now it needs a serious response.  

Today I want to look at the common meme:  Banning abortion means "forced pregnancy" or "forced birth". 

Now, normally one would imagine the phrase "forced pregnancy" to mean some kind of nightmare in which the government kidnaps women and impregnates them.   But that's not what's being said here.  The logic goes like this:  “If a woman is prohibited from getting an abortion, then the government is forcing her to remain pregnant and give birth.”  

Now, we know intuitively that this is logically upside down.  It is a twisted way of describing the situation... but how do we show that?  How do we put that intuition to words?

Forcing the Issue:

Let’s start by thinking about situations where we do (and don’t) say the government is forcing you to do something.  Well, let's start with taxes.  A person might say, "The government is forcing me to give up a third of my paycheck."

Or another example:  Suppose the government banned incandescent lightbulbs.  In that instance a person might say, "The government is forcing me to throw out my light bulbs."

One more:  Suppose the government mandates that everyone grows a vegetable garden to combat food scarcity.  Now you might say, "The State is compelling me into forced gardening."

Unforced Errors:

OK, but can we think of situations where the government passes a law but we wouldn't dream of calling it "forced [XYZ]".  

You bet.

How about laws against public nudity?  The government mandates that you cover your private parts while in public, but do we say such laws are “forced clothing” laws?  No.  

Or more gravely, we have laws against neglecting and abandoning children.  In the state of Indiana, the child neglect law reads:

"A person having the care of a dependent, whether assumed voluntarily or because of a legal obligation, who knowingly or intentionally places the dependent in a situation that endangers the dependent's life or health, abandons or cruelly confines the dependent, deprives the dependent of necessary support, or deprives the dependent of education as required by law commits neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony."

Now, providing for a minor is tough work.  Kids are a drain on your time, resources, and your body.  And yet, do we call those laws “forced caregiving” or “forced parenting”?  Again, no.  Only a very sick individual would refer to child neglect laws like that.

A Big, Messy Duty:

So what's the difference between those instances where we say the government is forcing people to do stuff.... and when you'd be insane for saying that?

The key distinction is whether we're talking about a natural duty or not.  That is to say, in the first instance the government is compelling you to do something which otherwise you'd never feel a compulsion to do.  The origin of the requirement is the State, period.

But in the other instances, the origin of your obligation is common sense, reason, and/or natural law - and the government is prohibiting you from transgressing that natural obligation.  

We recognize that confiscating your lightbulbs or growing a garden is something extra the government is making you do.  But being dressed in public is a reasonable expectation and taking care of your kids is a grave duty.  Thus, those laws aren’t described as government force.

Back to the Meme:

This brings us to the crux of the issue with the abortion meme.  

The reason why the "forced pregnancy" meme strikes you as totally upside down is because it takes something in the second group and puts it in the first.  That is, we recognize that [with the notable exception of sexual assault] pregnancy is the result of an activity which a man and woman willingly undertook.  The new life is the consequence of that action.  And now they both have natural obligations to that child.

Is continuing pregnancy - (or more pointedly; not killing that child) - an unreasonable imposition from the government?  Or is it more like a duty a parent owes to her child?  

The answer is obvious.  In prohibiting abortion, no one is being forced to do something arbitrary and irrational out of nowhere.  One is only being prohibited from doing something violent, wrong, and unnatural to avoid the consequences of one's decisions.  Namely, doing harm to one’s child.