2014 WV Senate debate: on Abortion


John Buckley: Pro-life Libertarian, because life begins at conception

I'm a pro-life Libertarian. Let me explain.

As a Libertarian, I believe that the role of government is to protect our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that government is not the grantor of our rights, but rather is to be the protector of rights and liberties with which we are endowed by our Creator.

Thus, where our actions infringe on the rights of another person, government has a proper role to mediate the dispute and to protect the oppressed.

Consistent with the above principles, I believe the issue of abortion turns on one fundamental inquiry: when does human life begin? I find that the answer to this question has been established beyond reasonable dispute. Basic biology demonstrates that an individual human being is created at the moment of conception. Therefore, the act of abortion is the taking of the life of another human being.

Source: 2014 West Virginia Senate campaign website JohnBuckley.org Aug 31, 2014

  • The above quotations are from 2014 West Virginia Senate debates.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Natalie Tennant on Abortion.
  • Click here for more quotes by Pat McGeehan on Abortion.
Candidates and political leaders on Abortion:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018