If independence is the criterion that the right to life is based in, then logically, one can slaughter any invalid or welfare recipient without penalty. Besides the sheer absurdity of that logic, it reduces human beings to the level of property. A fetus is not the property of its mother, cf the 13th Amendment. Also, David, it is you who needs to reread the Declaration of Independence, because apparently you missed the “Endowed by their Creator,” phrase. Since you reject that premise, you also reject the rest of the line.
Lastly, it is no more totalitarian to ban abortion than it is to ban and enforce the ban on any other form of homicide. Prohibiting homicide and punishing it harshly, including executing those who commit premeditated murder or solicit the same, is justice, and it is the primary reason for the government to exist. If the government refuses to punish homicide, it is an unjust government, and ought to be disbanded.
