There seem to be lots of reasons for this welcome trend, including reductions in the rate of teen pregnancy. A combination of more easily available birth control and a declining social stigma for out of wedlock birth are probably also responsible. But it also seems clear that the moral qualms people have always had about abortion aren’t going away. It’s been more than forty years since Roe v. Wade gave the United States one of the most permissive abortion regimes in the world, and the public seems to be getting less comfortable with that reality as more time goes by.

Ultimately, this may be due to the moral quality of American individualism. At its core, the value Americans place on individual freedom isn’t simply a rationalization for immoral and selfish behavior. There is a deeply moral belief in the transcendent value of the individual human being, uniquely and solely responsible to God and to conscience for his or her choices in life. Social restrictions on the freedom of individuals to choose are suspect; the goal isn’t a society of frightened conformists behaving ‘correctly’ to avoid social pressure. The goal is a society of mature and responsible individuals who freely choose what is good and right.

American individualism is predicated on a deep respect for human life.