Have you ever thought about the role that men play in women deciding to abort their preborn children?
I mean beyond the biological fact that a male is required for a female to become pregnant.
I’m speaking more about the psychological and societal role of men in abortion.
And since I am a man, more specifically, what role do I play?
It is with that question in mind that I share with you an annual habit that I am starting this year.
First, I chose a “word of the year” that I will focus on to improve my character.
And that word is “humility.”
Second, and more relevant to this article, I chose a quote that orients me in my mission to help young women and men not make the terrible choice to abort their children, a choice that my girlfriend and I made when I was just a teenager.
Here is the quote I chose from Saint Pope John Paul II:
“God has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman.”
Isn’t that quote amazing?
Getting back to the question of the role men play in abortion, what has been on my mind is what would happen if every man, in fact, took this assignment seriously as a duty?
How would that impact abortion numbers in our country?
Of course, it’s hard to know the exact answer to such a hypothetical, but I think if we more carefully consider a few key words in that Saint John Paul II quote, and match that against the fundamental emotion that leads women to abort, which is fear, then we can make an educated guess.
The first key word in the St JPII quote is “assigned.”
Dictionary.com defines the word “assign” as follows: “To give out or assign as a task”
And in ST JPII’s quote, it is God who has assigned the task to me as a man.
It is God saying to me, “Brett, do this.”
What has God assigned?
That’s the next key word: “duty.”
Dictionary.com defines the word “duty” as follows: “Something that one is expected
or required to do by moral or legal obligation.”
So God is requiring me as a moral obligation to do the task he has assigned me.
And what is that moral obligation?
That’s the third key word: “dignity.”
Dictionary.com defines the word “dignity” as follows: “Nobility or elevation of character;
worthiness”
So God has assigned me as a requirement, as a moral obligation, to elevate the nobility and character of every woman.
And according to St. JPII, God has assigned this not just to me, but to every man.
If you are a man reading this article, let that sit with you for a while, and ask yourself how you are doing.
Personally, I know I can do MUCH better in this area.
In the next article, we’ll look at what it means to elevate the character of a woman and how that applies to the emotion of fear that leads to an abortion decision.
Brett