Men and Abortion in America

There are many myths about abortion in America, and one of the worst is that it is solely a women’s issue. As we approach Father’s Day once again, it’s time to reveal the truth of the matter. Much is made in the media about abortion being a dividing line between men and women. But the so-called “gender gap” doesn’t exist. Men and women think alike on abortion.

A Pew Poll last year found “no gender gap in opinions about Roe v. Wade: Nearly identical percentages of women (64 percent) and men (63 percent) oppose reversing the decision.”

Yet we are inclined to accept that women should be the only gender with the opinion, right and authority to choose abortion. After all, mothers are the ones who experience pregnancy, the abortion itself and its after-effects. Fathers are welcome to take a position favoring abortion. They are even welcome to take a neutral, passive stance. But they are not welcome to take a public stance for life.

If they do, they are derided and accused of being anti-woman, anti-reproductive rights and traditionalist. Sometimes just being a man makes you suspect to pro-abortion feminists, which is why attorney and activist Florynce Kennedy once cracked, “If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.”

The educational organization I work for, Online for Life, has an iPhone app that allows people to pray for families considering abortion. One woman reviewed the app and wrote, “I have aborted several babies from my uterus. When did they [men at Online for Life] get vaginas? Oh wait. They didn’t. Good luck with this bologna.”

Another wrote, “Hey Brian, how completely self-righteous of you to proclaim you know what’s best for anyone but yourself. Especially in the cases of pregnant women, considering you’ll never experience pregnancy and don’t know their circumstances. This app is crazy town. Mind your own business.”

The point is this: Because the abortion procedure is performed on a woman’s body, men have no right to intrude.

What abortion defenders say, in effect, is “You can’t get pregnant, so leave the abortion issue to women,” as life-affirming debater Scott Klusendorf points out. He calls it the “I don’t like you” objection. The fact is, arguments don’t have genders. They’re either true or false, regardless of whether they are made by a man or a woman.

If, as some have argued, the qualification for addressing the abortion issue is the ability to bear children, then Roe itself is thrown into question, and all the men who helped legalize abortion and work in the abortion advocacy business ought to look for work elsewhere.

Seven of the nine men on the Supreme Court in 1973 voted for the legalization of abortion. Should their votes in Roe v. Wade not have counted because they didn’t have uteruses? What about the numerous men who work for Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other pro-abortion organizations? Should their voices be counted?

In fact, they are heard. The only voices not allowed to speak are those of men who are not in favor of abortion. As Klusendorf points out, the argument ought to be restated, “No man can speak on abortion unless he agrees with us.”

Prostate cancer kills thousands of men each year. Men care very much about prostate cancer, and they should have access to resources in order to be properly educated, so they can avoid getting it. Does that mean that women, who don’t have male organs, have no right to talk about prostate cancer? Or do both genders agree that prostate cancer kills men?

Facts are facts. A person’s gender does not change those facts or reduce one’s right to discuss them.

This is adapted from “Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women” by Brian E. Fisher.