By: Chris Buerke, Students for Life of America’s 2012 Missionary for LifeContrary to those who believe that being a pro-life guy is the easiest thing ever, considering the fact that we don’t have to carry babies inside of us for nine months, I find that being a man in the pro-life movement is extremely difficult. Granted, being a person of any gender when fighting against abortion is tough, but being a dude definitely has its challenges.
For example, last week I posted a blog about how much choices complicate life on Facebook, which everybody knows is the breeding ground for the most intelligent of arguments. Within minutes, I received my first comment from someone that I had not talked to in years, stating something to the effect of: “Did you know men can’t get pregnant, thus never having to make the choice? It’s pretty convenient to be a pro-life male.” To which I sarcastically responded, “Wait, guys can’t get pregnant? All this time…” I patted myself on the back, reclined my chair, and watched the typical fight break out underneath my status. And while I enjoyed the debate, especially because the pro-life people kicked butt, I couldn’t help but be bothered by the initial remark.
To me, it read, “Did you know that because you are a dude, you don’t get a say on this at all? Actually, I am going to completely discredit anything that you argue from this point on.” So, because I don’t have ovaries, I don’t have the right to an opinion. Sounds legit to me. Equality at its best. If we follow with that logic…if I never contract cancer within my life, I should not be allowed to raise money for a cure. If we travel back to the days of slavery…because I was a free person, I should not have been allowed to fight for the liberation of slaves.
You see articles telling men that they are not welcome in this argument; suggesting that they don’t have a say on whether a child gets to live or not. And the worst part is…a lot of guys buy that crap. They so badly don’t want to offend anyone that they just back out of the fight and say, “You’re right. It’s your problem.” And what you end up with is a bunch of women who are pregnant, confused, and alone because they pushed men out of the decision long before they could even be a part of it.
One of my friends of the double-X variety put it this way: “Women need men; men aren’t there; women become what they need from men; men decide women don’t need them any more to be men; men stop being men; and become what they need from women.” Simply put, women are telling men to butt out and men are listening. And what’s the result? Women who are alone and making bad decisions about the life of their child; and men who don’t care because they were told not to care from the start.
What I am getting at is this: men need to reconsider where they stand on abortion.
If you are pro-choice because you don’t want to offend women, I can give you a long list of women right now that you are offending because you support the ending of innocent lives—women who are beautiful, women who practice abstinence, women who have gotten pregnant, women who have regretted the abortions that they have had, etc. If you are a dude and you are being silent when you know that abortion is wrong, you need to speak up.
Elie Wiesel, a Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor, and true man, one stated “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
The abortion debate is not one for women alone. When millions of lives are being taken for the sake of convenience, no one should be allowed to sit idly by. Men should be outraged to see their sons and daughters taken from them because a small group of women told them that it wasn’t their decision to make.
Be a man, and fight. Fight for the respect of women at all times—respect in the womb, as individuals, as mothers, as sisters, and as lovers.
