Ethics: Abortion

Stick around after the closing music for some extra thoughts on this topic. -- I am a public philosopher, it is my only job. I am enabled to do this job, in large part, thanks to support from my listeners and readers. You can support my work, keep it independent and online, at https://practicingstoicism.com/pledge. In this episode, I explain why Stoicism does not judge people as just or unjust based on whether they hold a pro-life or pro-choice position. What matters, from a Stoic perspective, is not the conclusion someone reaches, but the quality of the reasoning that leads them there, and whether that reasoning accords with Stoic ethical theory. I use abortion specifically because it is a subject most of us struggle to hold open space around. It is emotionally charged, morally serious, and deeply tied to how we think about Nature, life, and human responsibility. For Stoics, this makes it a fitting case study for understanding how justice, reason, and virtue actually function in practice. I lay out the core Stoic framework first: reason is what carries moral weight. The pregnant person possesses reason; the fetus does not yet. Because of this, Stoicism does not frame abortion in terms of rights or politics, but as a question of how a rational agent uses reason to act in accordance with virtue. From there, I present two internally coherent Stoic arguments. The Stoic pro-life argument emphasizes following Nature, duties toward future rational beings, and justice as fidelity to natural purpose. The Stoic pro-choice argument emphasizes present rational agency, virtue as the only true good, and the idea that living in accordance with Nature means using reason, not blindly following biological processes. I then argue that politicising abortion is itself unjust from a Stoic point of view. Turning a deeply personal moral deliberation into a struggle for power strips the rational agent of their proper role and violates the Stoic demand to respect what lies within another person’s control. Finally, I draw practical conclusions for practicing Stoics. If faced with this decision yourself, you are responsible for reasoning carefully and virtuously. If others face it, justice requires humility, restraint, and respect for their rational faculty, even when you disagree. Stoicism asks us to focus on our own judgments, not to govern the moral agency of others. Looking for a Stoic habit tracker? I've created a free one. You can find it at https://stoictracker.com. Listening on Spotify? Leave a comment! Share your thoughts.