Abortion Once Again: a response to Feser, Goodwin, Mosquito, Sadowsky, Vance and Watkins
| Autor | Walter Block |
| Cargo | Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University College of Business (Chicago, United States of America) |
| Páginas | 11-41 |
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
Licensed under Creative Commons
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Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 4, n. 1, p. 11-41, jan./abr. 2017.
Como citar esse artigo/How to cite this article: BLOCK, Walter E. Abortion Once Again: a response to Feser, Goodwin, Mosquito,
Sadowsky, Vance and Watkins. Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 4, n. 1, p. 11-41, jan./abr. 2017. DOI: 10.5380/
rinc.v4i1.50328.
* Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University College of Business (Chicago, United States
of America). Ph.D. in Economics at Columbia University (New York, USA). B.A. in Philosophy, Brooklyn College (New York, USA).
E-mail: wblock@loyno.edu.
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais
ISSN 2359-5639
DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v4i1.50328
Abortion Once Again: a response to Feser, Goodwin,
Mosquito, Sadowsky, Vance and Watkins
Novamente o aborto: uma resposta a Feser, Goodwin,
Mosquito, Sadowsky Vance e Watkins
WALTER E. BLOCK*
Loyola University (United States of America)
wblock@loyno.edu
Recebido/Received: 25.01.2017 / January 25th, 2017
Aprovado/Approved: 06.02.2017 / February 6th, 2017
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Abstract
Only a libertarian would think to base an analysis of the
abortion controversy on private property rights. The
present paper does just that. On that basis, it concludes
that evictionism is the only policy compatible with lib-
ertarianism. This essay then uses this analysis to criticize
the views on this subject of ve scholars associated with
this political philosophy: Feser, Goodwin, Mosquito, Sad-
owsky, Vance and Watkins.
Keywords: pro-life; pro-choice; evictionism; libertarian-
ism; abortion.
Resumo
Apenas um libertário pensaria em basear uma análise so-
bre a controvérsia do aborto em direitos de propriedade. O
presente artigo faz justamente isso. Seguindo essa linha,
conclui-se que o eviccionismo é a única política compatível
com o libertarianismo. Esse trabalho, pois, utiliza essa ferra-
menta de análise para criticar as opiniões sobre aborto de
cinco professores alinhados a essa corrente losóca: Feser,
Goodwin, Mosquito, Sadowsky, Vance e Watkins.
Palavras-chave: pró-vida; pró-escolha; eviccionismo;
libertarianismo; aborto.
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Revista de Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 4, n. 1, p. 11-41, jan./abr. 2017.
Walter E. Block
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CONTENTS
1. Introduction; 2. Feser; 3. Goodwin; 3.1. Abortion is killing, but is it murder?; 3.2. When does life be-
gin?; 3.3. Abortion and failure to come to the aid; 3.4. The unborn child is trespassing; 3.5. There is no
contract; 3.6. The mother can change her mind; 3.7. Evictionism; 3.8. Rights of the unborn child; 3.9.
Causation; 3.10. Reasonable reliance (on promises); 3.11. A unilateral contract; 3.12. Lease; 3.13. Cove-
nant of quiet enjoyment; 4. Mosquito; 5. Sadowsky; 6. Vence; 7. Watkins; 8. Conclusion; 9. References.
1. INTRODUCTION
Libertarianism is predicated upon the sanctity of private property rights and the
non-aggression principle (NAP).
There has been an exhaustive and erce debate amongst non-libertarians re-
garding the pro-choice versus pro-life philosophies. However, since none of them start
o with libertarian principles, let alone adhere, rigidly, to them throughout, the con-
clusions they reach are almost necessarily guaranteed to diverge, widely, from those
reached by members of the libertarian school of thought. The present paper considers
several contributions to this debate authored by libertarians. If no one else can be ex-
pected to observe the NAP based on private property rights, then, at least, they can be
expected to do so. Hence, we suspect, there might be a consensus, at least in this small
arena of scholarship, on this issue. If so, we will be sadly disappointed. It would appear
that this issue is fraught with so many complexities, and subtleties that even those who,
presumably, start out on the basis of shared principles, all too often diverge from one
another.
In the following sections of this paper we criticize the views on abortion on the
part of several scholars associated with the libertarian political philosophy. They are in
section II, Feser; III, Goodwin; IV, Mosquito; V, Sadowsky; V, Vance; VI, Watkins. Section
VII is our conclusion. I have chosen these authors and their views on abortion because,
while all are associated with libertarianism, none have supported the evictionist view I
maintain is a direct deduction from libertarian principles, non-aggression, and private
property rights based upon homesteading virgin territory. That is to say, it is my conten-
tion that libertarians who do not embrace evictionism fail to carry out, fully, the logic of
their own basic premises. If I cannot even convince libertarians that evictionism is the
only just answer to the pro-life, pro-choice controversy, then I have little hope to do so
with the population at large. The present paper, then, is dedicated to trying to grab up
low hanging intellectual fruit who do not accept evictionism as the only valid answer
to the abortion debate.
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