COLUMN: Responsible Men a Realistic Solution to Abortion

Oct 13, 05:03 AM

Current Headlines: By Luke Fischer

By Luke Fischer
Daily Nebraskan ( U. Nebraska )

(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. -- Two weeks ago, our university was graced by the presence of the Genocide Awareness Project. There was quite a lot of hype surrounding their visit, so I made it a priority to spend a good chunk of my Wednesday morning and afternoon viewing the display and speaking with various people representing both sides of the abortion debate. Being staunchly pro-life, I initially talked with a number of individuals representing the GAP, but I also spent several hours talking with people representing the Students for Choice. I must say, it was the latter of these two groups that I enjoyed speaking with the most. While we definitely disagreed on the legal and moral permissibility of abortion, we seemed to come to an agreement that it would be a good thing if the demand for abortion were eliminated. So how do we end the demand for abortion? I certainly think that banning abortion would be a good thing, but it would hardly address this issue. To find the answer to this question we need to look into the bigger issue of what specifically in our society is creating a need for abortion. Why do women get abortions? According to a 2004 Guttmacher Institute report, some of the most common reasons a woman might get an abortion include the fear that having a baby would change her life, inability to afford a child and unwillingness to become a single parent. Not surprisingly, a similar study by the Center for Disease Control reports that more than 80 percent of the women getting abortions are unmarried. There is virtually no mention of men in these reports. This is the case in much of the debate surrounding abortion. The issue is, for the most part, seen as a women's issue. There seems to be some sort of an implicit belief that men have no say and thus no responsibility in the matter. This is a problem because in all our study of and debate about abortion, we as a society have failed to recognize that the ultimate solution to the problem of abortion actually lies in the hands of men. If we stop and take a good long look at the whole issue, we'll se that the real reason we have such a problem with abortion is that there are far too many males in our society who aren't acting like men. Before you start accusing me of making sweeping, groundless generalizations, stop and reflect for a moment on true manhood. A simple, yet effective way to do this is to look at some of the common representations of ideal men in popular culture. First and foremost in my mind is William Wallace's character in the movie "Braveheart." Characters such as Maximus in Gladiator, or even King Leonidas in "300," also present excellent representations of the ideal man. What is it in these men that we find so admirable? While each is warrior, it is not violence or skill in battle that make them outstanding examples of men. Rather, it is certain characteristics that they all possess, virtues, you might say, that make them such excellent men. Their characters take responsibility seriously. They display extraordinary self-discipline and a willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Most importantly, they have a profound respect for the women in their lives. It is in living out those characteristics that true manhood is found. But how does this apply to abortion? If men started to take responsibility seriously, there wouldn't be any women getting pregnant outside of marriage. Responsible men would recognize that sex could have very real outcomes -- new life -- and that they may not be capable of dealing with it outside of marriage. They would come to the understanding that while sex is in fact a wonderful thing, it needs to be engaged in within certain boundaries. If men were willing to sacrifice for the greater good, there would be no sex outside of marriage. They would realize that, while abstaining from sex until marriage may be difficult, it is worthwhile and actually very rewarding in the end. If they had some self-discipline, they probably wouldn't find this that hard to do.If men in our society had any real respect for women, the problem of abortion would be eliminated. A man who has real respect for a woman would not even consider sex outside of marriage for fear of causing even the smallest amount of harm. A man who truly respects women would never want to put any woman in a position to face unwanted pregnancy. He would never want her to be faced with the choice whether or not to have an abortion. And he certainly would not want her to have to go through a terrifying and emotionally damaging abortion procedure. If men in our society were to actually live out these qualities -- in other words, if they would embrace their manhood -- the problem of abortion would disappear. Don't get me wrong; I by no means think that women are weak, ignorant or helpless. Certainly, women could end the problem as well, but this cannot not serve as an excuse for men. For far too long there has been a double standard that says "boys will be boys" and at the same time expects women to live chaste, pure lives. It is a travesty that the relationship between the sexes exists in such a state. It utterly disgusts me to think of women having to defend themselves against selfish and irresponsible men. It seems a much more tolerable solution for men, who suffer much less from the negative effects of pre-marital sex and abortion, to solve the problem by acting selflessly and lovingly and simply abstaining from sex until marriage. The real solution, then, truly does lie in the hands of men. I, for one, am sick and tired of my gender refusing to accept the responsibilities that go along with having male anatomy. Far too many innocent women and children have had to suffer the consequences of the irresponsible actions of men. It is high time for the males in our society to accept the responsibility of their gender.

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