John Lofton: Do you think abortion is murder? Ron Paul: Yes, but we have in our state laws, which enforce the law against murder, there are degrees. You have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree murder. I think somebody who takes a pill the day after probably isn't committing quite the horrible murder when you see somebody lying on the floor and somebody takes a gun and puts it to their head. I don't equate those... John Lofton: What do you think ought to be the penalty for the abortionist and for the person who gets the abortion? Ron Paul: I really don't have the wisdom to know exactly what it should be... The girl who goes and gets an abortion, she's a participant in it, I don't think she deserves the death penalty... But there are some abortionists that it wouldn't be very hard to give them a pretty harsh punishment, because, you know, nothing annoys me more than the fact that an abortionist can make money killing a live viable fetus, in the 3rd trimester, and they think nothing about it, and they make a living doing this. Any yet, one minute after birth, that same mother, who might throw the child away, rightfully is called to task, and actually charged with murder. So that inconsistency has to be resolved.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Paul acknowledges abortion as murder but distinguishes degrees of culpability, expressing uncertainty about appropriate penalties and emphasizing the participant's role.
- In plain terms
- He says abortion is murder but not all cases deserve the same punishment.
- What can you take from it?
- Legal distinctions can reflect varying moral responsibility.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How should law differentiate between types of abortion?
- What factors should influence sentencing?
Another view
The moral framing may oversimplify complex personal circumstances.
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