If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all to human offspring in the womb. One human being has the right to take the life of another only in defense of his own life or when, through acts of war, an aggressor forfeits his immunity from harm. This means that, except where necessary to save the physical life of the mother, abortion involves the unjust taking of a human life. The mere fact that the individual in the womb is wholly in its mother's physical power and completely dependent upon her for sustenance gives her no right whatsoever with respect to its life, since the mere possession of physical power can never confer such a right. Might does not make right.
Abortion is, therefore, a breach of the fundamental tenents of our public moral creed.
If we accept this view, we utterly vitiate the doctrine of human rights presented in the Declaration of Independence. According to that doctrine, the laws of God command respect for the rights of all human beings. But if human beings can arbitrarily decide who is human and who is not, this command has no force or effect. Whenever we wished to deny someone's human rights, we could deny that person's humanity and escape the force of the command. So, when whites wished to enslave blacks, they denied their humanity, and so construed the right to hold slaves as a property right.