In an article titled “Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin Are Pro-Choice,” Huffington Post blogger Bob Cesca seeks to inform the world that Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin are pro-choice and don’t even know it. You may be wondering how he formed those conclusions. I was personally hoping his assumption was based off more than the fact that Bachmann hasn’t excluded the word choice from her vocabulary.
Before I got to Cesca’s reasoning, I read of his transformation from a “very serious Republican” to a liberal Democrat. It all began in high school, where Cesca was the president of his Republican club and not surprisingly pro-life. He describes a conversation with a student named Carl that changed everything.
It was one question during a debate about abortion. One interrogative sentence. I remember exactly where Carl and I were standing in the high school library when he asked me this question: “If your girlfriend got pregnant, what would you do?” Almost without thinking, I replied, “Well, it would be her choice to make — ohhhh.” And there you go. I had admitted to being pro-choice without realizing I was pro-choice until that very minute. And of course, being intellectually honest, I conceded the point to Carl.
I was honestly surprised that that question shook him. It’s the equivalent of someone asking me, “What would you do if you ever got raped?” An honest pro-lifer has already weighed those hard questions into his or her decision-making. I’d be a hypocrite if I told others to keep their children but wouldn’t be willing to do the same in that situation. Secondly, I know children born out of rape, and they are beautiful, amazing gifts to the earth. Moreover, I believe that aborting after rape just adds to the violence and pain a woman endures. I have that opinion because I’ve spent time thinking it out and searching for truth. If Cesca had taken the time to think through what he could do in that situation, he would have been equipped to give a better answer.
Cesca continues: “With that one question, Carl had ignited an epiphany of sorts that led me to liberalism. Naturally it should be ‘her choice.’ It was so obvious. What else was I supposed to do? Hold her hostage and force her to birth our (rhetorical) child? Her body, her choice.”
We all know holding someone hostage is never a good answer. However, there are a few rational things you could do without turning into a (rhetorical) terrorist. I’ll share some later. First, let’s look at that reasoning I mentioned in the first paragraph. Here’s Cesca’s proof of Palin’s pro-choice status:
Earlier in the 2008 campaign, Palin said:
“We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”
Cesca remarked: “She’s ‘proud’ of Bristol’s choice – her ‘decision.’ If she was truly anti-choice and anti-abortion, she would have done what anyone would do if another life was in danger of possibly being killed: she wouldn’t have allowed Bristol the decision-making latitude and forced her to have the baby – with or against Bristol’s will. Pro-life dogma mandates that the mother has no choice in the matter.”
And this:
During a “pro-life” fundraising dinner in 2009, she admitted to considering the option of aborting Trig when she received the results of her amniocentesis. She said she made the “good decision to choose life.” Again, a choice. She talked about girls making “the choice to let the child live.” Literally the word “choice.”
Cesca concludes: “She’s in favor of having the right to choose, which, by definition, is pro-choice.”
Sarah Palin knew she had a legal right to an abortion. The reason she didn’t abort was because she knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do. When Roe v. Wade is overturned, people will still have a right to “choose” abortion. The difference is that there will be a legal consequence for that choice because it’s a harmful one that endangers another’s life.
I want people to make choices – wise, moral, life-affirming choices that empower women. Saying I’m pro-life doesn’t mean I am against women making choices. I am a woman, and I am grateful for the positive choices I make related to health care and well-being. What I am against is women choosing to murder.
Back to the “interrogative sentence” that led Cesca down a path towards liberalism. He offered the most radical, brutal thing one could do, then declares that if he couldn’t do that, then what could he do? We’ll, here’s a list of logical things fathers can do if faced with that situation.
1. Choose to acknowledge that the child is yours.
First step is to admit that you greatly contributed to bringing a child into the world. As much as the woman is a pregnant mother, you are a new father. Unless it’s a virgin birth, you played a part in it. When men flippantly say, “It’s her body, her choice,” they abdicate all responsibility. They might as well say, “It’s not my problem; you deal with it.” You can say it’s not your problem – but it is your child.
2. Choose to embrace the child.
Once you’ve admitted that the child is yours, the second step is to truly desire the child. People blame the child for being “unwanted,” as if it’s the child’s fault. Yet all children in the womb seem to like living there. If you leave them alone, they’ll be quite comfortable growing in their protected home. Change your perspective and start seeing your child as a gift and not a burden. Change your thinking, and your feelings will follow. Every child can be a wanted child.
3. Choose to redefine fatherhood.
What does fatherhood mean to you? Do good fathers sit idly by and watch their children die or pressure women to abort? Does fatherhood entail running away or denying your responsibilities? Or is it standing up and protecting your innocent and vulnerable baby? Don’t let the secular media define masculinity and fatherhood. Find a better definition – one that includes valuing life.
4. Choose to voice your opinion.
Who says fathers have no say when it comes to abortion? Prove them wrong and start talking. Who says abortion is just a women’s issue? Make it your issue by getting involved. The life of your child is worth it. Many women choose to keep their child when they are supported by men in their lives. Be a voice that helps women make good decisions.
5. Choose to educate yourself
Have you heard of Post Abortion Syndrome? Research it. Do you know what a botched abortion is? Read the stories of women who’ve had them. Do you know what takes place in an abortion procedure? Research that and look at the pictures. It’s easy to say, “Your body, your choice” without knowing what that choice may entail. The world says it’s compassionate for men not to interfere with women who want to abort. I say it’s pathetic and uncaring. Abortion hurts men, women, and children. The kindest thing a father can do is stand for the life of his child and the protection of the mother.
I wish I could have been a part of Cesca’s conversation in the high school hallway that day. I would have told him to protect women and the unborn or become another emasculated male silenced by the lies of radical feminism and the abortion agenda. I’m thankful to know men who are courageous defenders of the unborn. Fathers do have a choice. I pray that they make the right one.
