Abortion today carries on much of the legacy of American slavery, claiming complete rights over other human lives. With a closer look, slavery and abortion look like cruel twins (fraternal, not identical), but many people find the similarities between slavery and abortion, too uncomfortable to talk about. Still, every argument for the “right to abortion” can be found in the historical arguments used to justify the “right to own slaves.”

Slaveholders and abortion supports had (have) little tolerance for people who disagree with their position. Slavery said that the Free States in America had no right to an opinion on slavery. Abortion says men have no right to an opinion on abortion.

Slavery and abortion don’t want people who disagree with their practices to have the freedom of speech. Slaveholders claimed that other people had no right to care about their victims. Abortion supporters make the same claim.

Both slavery and abortion claim that nobody has a right to criticize their cruelty. They claim that what they do is a private matter. Slavery said that Black lives didn’t matter. Abortion says that prenatal lives don’t matter.

Both slavery and abortion claim to have the right to cruelly disrespect and abuse certain human lives. They both declare that some human life shouldn’t have legal protection.

Slavery and abortion both attacked their opponents as “single issue voters.” They both continually attempt to reduce their victims to a subhuman status.

Both slavery and abortion deny any rights to their victims based on the idea of possession or ownership. Because prenatal human lives and slaves are not free to express the abuse of their life, they have no recourse.

It was said, slaves wouldn’t have a good enough quality of life to justify their freedom. Today, many justify abortion with that approach.

Both slavery and abortion have used Supreme Court decisions to try to try justify their cruelty. Also, many churches and denominations have strongly supported both slavery and abortion.

Slavery appealed to the junk science that “some humans are less evolved than others are.” Abortion appeals to to the false idea that “conception doesn’t begin life.”

When abolitionists began to meddle with slavery, slaveholders cried: “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do with my propery.” When the US tried to make laws against slavery, slaveholders said: “My property, my choice.” History repeats itself. Today the cry is “My body, my choice.”