Last night, the nation of Argentina elected the classical liberal candidate Javier Milei, ending decades of leftist administrations (interrupted with short periods of center right technocrats).
Besides the relatively large margin of victory, the largest since the South American nation of 45 million returned to democratic elections in 1983, the most shocking aspect of this election was the boldness with which Mr. Milei made his opinions known.
On abortion, a subject which many North American libertarians understand as one of potential government interference with personal decisions, Mr. Milei correctly frames the issue as one of the need for society to guarantee respect for fundamental rights, of which the right to life is paramount.
In an interview given to Tucker Carlson for the show Tucker on X, the conservative commentator put the question openly to Javier Milei: you oppose abortion, why?
The answer, shown in the video below and transcribed is a clear and cogent explanation that anyone, religious or not should be able to understand, and which all politicians who call themselves pro-life should be able to communicate.
Tucker: You oppose abortion, why?
President (then candidate) Javier Milei:
“Well, because as a liberal, a libertarian liberal – in English the word “liberal” means something different – so let me say that, as a libertarian, we believe that liberalism entails the unrestricted respect for the lives of others, rooted in the principle of non-aggression, and the defense of life, liberty and property. If we adhere to these principles of liberty, then one of the most fundamental aspects of this is to defend the right to life. So, philosophically I am in favor of the respect for the right to life. Beyond that, there is a scientific justification, from biology, and that is the fact that life begins at the moment of fertilization. At that very moment there comes into being a new being that is developing with its unique DNA. And it is true that a woman has the right to bodily autonomy, but that child in her womb is not her body. I repeat, the child in the womb is not her body. Therefore, abortion is a form of homicide that is aggravated by (violation of) the maternal bond and the power imbalance against a defenseless child. Beyond that, there is a question of a mathematical nature. Life is a continuum with two distinct leaps, birth and death and any interruption of that continuum is murder.”