The following post is by Lauren Enriquez and is a re-post from LiveActionNews website.
Washington, DC (LiveActionNews) — With the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 came the legalization of the ultimate usurper of fatherhood: abortion. Forty years later, America faces the unpleasant reality that, thanks to abortion and the sexual revolution, the role of fatherhood has rapidly made an about-face. Fatherhood has gone from being an unquestioned ingredient in family life to a variable that occurs in the family dynamic only when circumstances are aligned just right.
Fifty-five million aborted babies later, it seems many men are realizing the Supreme Court got it wrong. Fatherhood doesn’t start with birth. It starts when we opt to sleep with a woman.
It is this dilemma that prompted Online for Life President Brian Fisher, in anticipation of Father’s Day, to release a FoxNews column about the impact of abortion on men. Fisher begins by acknowledging that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 was a welcome liberation from perceived shackles of fatherhood. However, as the years have dragged on, more tragic and dark realities have emerged as true consequences of abortion’s mitigation of fatherly rights and responsibilities. Says Fisher:
Of course, millions of men welcomed the change. The sexual revolution was booming, and men were experiencing a new kind of empowerment we hadn’t previously enjoyed…
Abortion didn’t empower women. It empowered men.
Fast forward to Father’s Day 2013.
Fifty-five million aborted babies later, it seems many men are realizing the Supreme Court got it wrong. Fatherhood doesn’t start with birth. It starts when we opt to sleep with a woman. And, despite federal law, our consciences testify that we are wired to protect and care for a child when it is conceived, not nine months later.
What are the unfortunate side-effects of elective abortion for men? According to Fisher, abortion is beginning to show its ugly face in the form of many tragic consequences, including depression and the exploitation of women:
We are just now considering, though, that we victimize ourselves.
Depression, guilt, shame, a loss of self, a loss of honor, and destroyed relationships are common male consequences of abortion.
In our heart of hearts, we are coming to grips with what we’re doing. We are willfully taking the lives of those we are wired to protect.
Men, born to be honorable and full of valor, Fisher says, have traded their innate sense of responsibility for a perceived freedom that is not worth the cost. He says that a man’s fundamental calling to defend those who are dependent on him, including the unborn, is squashed by the abortion mentality.
He concludes by suggesting that, although Father’s Day is a time to remember and honor the good men in our lives, it has also morphed into a day when the nation should mourn. As we need a Veterans’ Day to thank those who have fought for our freedom, we also need Memorial Day to remember those who have fallen victim to the ravages of war. Similarly, every Father’s Day since 1973 has become a day when we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that fathers are undermined by a culture that affirms “a woman’s right to choose,” since that tragic choice eliminates what is good about men and fathers.
Organizations like Rachel’s Vineyard work to heal the wound that abortion has left on women and men alike.
Note: Lauren is a former Legislative Associate for Texas Right to Life and a graduate of Ave Maria University.
I think we need to be balanced about this. Certainly, there are some men who are responsible and dutiful parents and who mourn when their partner decides to have an abortion that they don’t want. Unfortunately, from what I’ve been told from people who work in Crisis Pregnancy Centres overseas for their national pro-life movements, there are also irresponsible, aggressive, alcohol and drug abusing pro-abortion men who pressure their partners to have abortions that the women don’t want, sometimes through domestic violence. In circumstances where pro-life women face these situations, we shouldn’t be wilfully anti-feminist if there is a real and demonstrable need for their safety. I know, because my own daughter was in exactly this situation with her violent ex-husband when she was pregnant with our (disabled) granddaughter. He wanted her to have an abortion. She refused to consider it.
Totally agree Rhona. If any women is in a situation of real physical/emotional abuse then there is no way we would encourage them to remain in that situation. There is no suggestion that we would have ‘anti-feminist’ views in that situation, although we would not put it in those words.
There are many brave women who refuse abortions when the pressure to have one in put on by boyfriend, husband or family/friends. We are glad to hear your granddaughter is amongst them.