I believe life begins at conception and that it would be inconsistent to defend freedom and liberty without protecting every life. All life should be equal in the eyes of government and, as such, equally protected. Every single child, born or unborn, should have the same protection of life and liberty as has a full grown adult.
To allow abortion is to say that all life is not equal, and that we as a society can arbitrarily decide when rights should be extended to individuals. This is a dangerous path and it has led to atrocities in our past, such as allowing the sterilization of mentally disabled individuals. Rights are not granted to us by government, but by our creator. All people are created equal, regardless of their stage of development.
Famed women's right activist Elizabeth Stanton was firmly against abortion, stating, "When we consider that woman are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit." I believe women do have a right to their body and to freely conduct their lives accordingly, including preventing pregnancy through the use of contraceptives or abstinence, but their rights to their body do not override the rights of the child.
Our strength as a society and our respect for liberty and freedom can best be judged on how we treat the most innocent and defenseless members of our society, and I promise to protect life at all fronts. As a congressman I promise to fight to repeal Roe v Wade and allow Kentucky to ban abortion.