Human history has been shaped by a slow but transformative expansion of human rights, a process that reflects our growing recognition of individual dignity and the need to protect the vulnerable. From the earliest legal codes to the modern era’s fight against discrimination; this development has been a positive force, gradually extending justice and equality to more people. Yet, this progress faces a significant challenge today in the form of abortion, where advocates often fail to acknowledge the fetus as a unique human life. Despite scientific evidence, including his or her unique and distinct DNA and the universal truth that every human passes through the fetal stage, this oversight undermines the principles that have driven human rights forward. This article will first explore the historical evolution of human rights and then examine the harm caused by abortion advocacy, arguing that all human life, including the unborn, deserves protection based on secular, scientific, and philosophical reasoning.

Part I: The Historical Expansion of Human Rights

The story of human rights begins with the earliest attempts to codify laws and establish justice in ancient civilizations. In Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi, enacted around 1754 BCE, was one of the first written legal systems, setting out rules to govern behavior and ensure accountability. While it was harsh and unequal—punishments varied by social class—it introduced the idea that laws could regulate society and provide a framework for justice. This was a rudimentary step toward recognizing that individuals had some claim to fair treatment, even if limited to specific groups. Over centuries, these early codes influenced subsequent legal traditions, establishing a foundation for the rule of law that would later underpin human rights.

A major milestone came in 1215 with the Magna Carta in England, a document that reshaped the relationship between rulers and the ruled. Forced upon King John by rebellious barons, it declared that even the monarch was subject to the law, curbing absolute power and introducing the concept of due process. Though initially a tool to protect noble privileges, its principles—such as the right to a fair trial—echoed through history, influencing broader notions of liberty. The Magna Carta’s legacy lies in its establishment of the rule of law as a check on tyranny, a principle that would become central to modern human rights. It marked a shift toward recognizing that power must be balanced by accountability, a cornerstone of justice systems worldwide.

The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries brought a philosophical revolution that redefined human rights as inherent to all individuals. Thinkers like John Locke argued that people are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that governments exist to protect these rights through a consensual social contract. These ideas fueled landmark documents like the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789, which proclaimed equality and freedom as universal entitlements. The Enlightenment shifted the focus from divine authority to human dignity, asserting that rights were not gifts from rulers but intrinsic to humanity. This intellectual leap laid the groundwork for modern democratic societies and the global spread of human rights ideals.

The 20th century saw these ideals formalized on an international scale with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Born from the horrors of World War II, the UDHR sought to prevent future atrocities by establishing a global standard for human dignity, declaring rights to life, liberty, and security for all, regardless of race or gender. It emphasized the role of neutral courts in upholding justice, ensuring that individuals could seek redress without fear of bias or reprisal. The UDHR’s influence was profound, inspiring national constitutions and international treaties that enshrined human rights in law. It represented a collective commitment to protecting the vulnerable and marked a high point in the historical expansion of human rights.

The latter half of the 20th century brought tangible victories in the struggle against discrimination and inequality. In the United States, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s ended legal segregation, securing equal rights for African Americans through landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Globally, the fall of apartheid in South Africa and the push for women's suffrage expanded the scope of human rights to include marginalized groups. These efforts relied on grassroots activism and neutral courts to enforce justice, demonstrating that human rights are not static but evolve through persistent struggle. The end of legalized racism and the recognition of equality across race and gender were monumental achievements, reflecting the positive trajectory of human rights over time.

Part II: The Challenge of Abortion Advocacy

Despite this progress, the issue of abortion poses a serious challenge to the principles that have guided the expansion of human rights. Abortion advocates often fail to recognize the fetus as a unique human life, ignoring its distinct DNA and the scientific reality that this is a human being. From conception, a fetus has a genetic identity separate from its mother, marking it as an individual with the potential to grow through the same stages—infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood—that every human experiences. This developmental continuum underscores that the fetus is not a mere appendage, clump of cells, or parasite but a human life in its earliest form. To deny any fetus's humanity is to reject the inclusive logic that has driven human rights forward, arbitrarily excluding a vulnerable population from protection.

Scientifically, the fetus meets the criteria for life: it grows, metabolizes energy, and responds to its environment, all hallmarks of a living organism. Its unique DNA confirms it as a distinct human entity, not a part of the mother’s body but a separate being with its own trajectory. Critics who argue that a fetus lacks rights due to its dependence overlook the fact that dependency is a feature of human life at many stages: infants rely on parents, the elderly on caregivers. Yet these humans' right to life remains unquestioned. The fetal stage is simply one phase in the universal human journey, no less worthy of protection than any other. By dismissing this, abortion advocates undermine the principle that all human life, regardless of development, has inherent value.

The argument for bodily autonomy, often central to abortion advocacy, does not fully address the presence of a second life in the equation. While a woman’s right to control her body is significant, the fetus’s distinct identity means it is not merely her body at stake but another human being’s existence. Balancing these rights is complex, yet abortion debates frequently sidestep this tension by denying the fetus any consideration. This refusal to grapple with the fetus’s humanity reduces him or her to an object, stripping away the dignity that human rights seek to uphold. Such a stance contradicts the historical trend of expanding protections to those previously overlooked, from enslaved people to women, and weakens the moral framework of justice.

The societal harm of this failure extends beyond individual cases, eroding the commitment to safeguard the vulnerable that defines human rights. Historically, progress has come from recognizing the worth of those deemed powerless—racial minorities, the poor, the disabled—and extending them legal protection. The fetus, utterly dependent and voiceless, epitomizes vulnerability, yet abortion advocacy often dismisses the unborn child's claim to life. This selective exclusion risks desensitizing society to the value of life itself, normalizing the idea that some humans are disposable based on arbitrary traits like age or development. Over time, this could weaken protections for other vulnerable groups, unraveling the hard-won gains of human rights movements. Since Roe v. Wade, we have already seen a surge of women being treated like objects and allowing themselves to be commoditized by the rampant pornography epidemic. The dignity of vulnerable groups is already being stripped away.

Furthermore, the casual acceptance of abortion as a routine choice diminishes the gravity of ending a human life. When framed as a simple medical procedure, it obscures the profound ethical questions involved, fostering a culture that prioritizes convenience over compassion. Human rights have thrived on empathy and the recognition that all individuals are interconnected, a principle abortion undermines by severing the bond between mother and unborn child. This erosion of moral sensitivity threatens the societal consensus that has ended practices like racism and oppression. If we accept that life can be discarded at one stage, we risk justifying harm at others, reversing the trajectory of justice that history has so painstakingly built.

In conclusion, the slow expansion of human rights has been a positive force, moving from ancient legal codes and neutral courts to the end of systemic racism, driven by a growing acknowledgment of human dignity. Yet, abortion advocacy challenges this legacy by failing to recognize the fetus as a unique human life, despite its scientific and philosophical basis for protection. This oversight not only devalues the unborn but also jeopardizes the broader commitment to safeguarding all vulnerable individuals. To preserve the progress of human rights, we must affirm that every human life, including at its earliest stages, is worth protecting. Merely returning this issue to the states, as the Supreme Court did with Dobbs, isn't enough. Only by embracing this consistency can we honor the historical journey toward justice for all.