Of our most recent comments, one by reader Christy Knockleby hit on something that I feel needs further addressing. She said:

It seems to me that if we claim the decision is between the woman and her doctor, then it would make sense to let the men off the hook, doesn’t it? Of course they were involved in creating the pregnancy, but if they’re not supposed to be involved in the decision to abort…. why are we supposed to judge them for the woman’s decision? Except of course nothing is clear cut.

Indeed nothing is clear cut. What of the men who suggest, pressure, or encourage an abortion to a woman who decides to carry the baby to term? Chris Rock does a bang up job explaining this reality. (WARNING: This is Chris Rock, people. Be ready for some seriously foul language.) To cut to the chase, jump to the 2 minute mark.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjW4i67YC04]

All humour aside, what guilt does the man harbor, watching this unwanted pregnancy develop into a newborn baby; a doting child? How does that affect the father’s relationship with his child? And with his child’s mother? Statistics suggest that more than half of abortions involve coercion, either by a mate or a parent. Translation: Abortion is not purely a choice between a woman and her doctor.

So should these fathers of potential abortions keep silent? Pro-abortion etiquette would tell us so. One big problem with that: women don’t generally equate a man’s silence with love and support. Quite the opposite.