Abortion Part 1: Men Don’t Get it

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are taught that we fought a war in heaven over the power to choose. In the book of Moses we learn that Satan rebelled against God over the agency of humanity.  Satan wanted to take away the power we were given by God to choose our own fate. Satan wanted to take away our sovereignty, and by so doing came in direct conflict with our Heavenly Parents and Jesus.  

In the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are also taught, “Physical intimacy between husband and wife is beautiful and sacred. It is ordained of God for the creation of children and for the expression of love within marriage.”  We also know scientifically that sex in a loving and healthy relationship provides a myriad of health benefits.  From both the Church and from science we are taught that sex is good and needed.

Now let’s get to the meat of our topic today: abortion.  I used to think abortion was something that a woman did to get out of consequences of having a good time.  I would hear stories of sleezy women getting drunk and wearing too little, inviting men to their beds.  Then they would abort the baby shortly before the baby was due, thus conjuring up in my mind the image of a beautiful baby, blue and lifeless on a sterile stainless steel operating table.

This is not what happens.

The reality is much different. Here are just a few examples  A married woman who has 5 children and can’t take birth control because of the damaging side-effects. The man who has gotten a vasectomy that healed and they didn’t know it. They know they can’t afford another child. As soon as the next menstrual cycle doesn’t come, the woman takes a pill that causes a menstrual cycle and the zygote is passed with a normal cycle.

This is not murdering a baby.

Another example: A husband and wife look forward to having a child, she gets pregnant. After 20 weeks she miscarries. They are devastated and go to the doctor.  The doctor performs an abortion to pull the now dead fetus out of the grieving wife’s body so she does not go into sepsis.

This is also not murdering a baby.

Here’s another example: A husband and wife want to have sex because it’s healthy for them to do so (see above). The woman cannot take traditional oral contraception because of a medical condition. This same medical condition would make pregnancy lethal for her. She gets an arm implant that secretes hormones that block pregnancy. This is considered abortion by the state of Utah’s new trigger law.

This is also not murdering a baby.

Another example: A woman finds out she is pregnant.  During the pregnancy she learns she has cancer. She cannot be treated for cancer while carrying the child, so she decides that children at home having a mother who is alive is better than trying to carry the fetus to term. She requests an abortion.

This is also not murdering a baby.

There are so many examples that are more complicated and completely reasonable as to why women need to terminate a pregnancy in the best interest and health of the fetus, mother, family, and community.  Almost none of these examples involve the carelessness or sleaziness I was conditioned to expect. Men generally don’t understand these things.  Even if we do from a mental or objective standpoint, we will never really understand what it’s like to get pregnant, nor will we understand the pain of the decision to end a pregnancy that is wanted. Nor will we understand how life-altering a baby would be to the single mother barely making it as it is.

Because we do not menstruate, get pregnant, or have the anatomy of women, men will never understand.  It therefore makes no sense for men in state legislatures to make laws dictating a woman’s right to choose what is good for her and her family.

It makes a lot more sense for each woman to decide, given she knows intimately well her own circumstances.

After all, we fought a war in heaven over our power to choose, didn't we?

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  • kevin wally
    commented 2022-08-29 17:45:44 -0700
    I love this perspective as well. Berkeley School of Law professor Khiara Bridges explains that men can become pregnant. Also Supreme court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson explained that you can’t define what a women is. The whole intent of your article is mute. If men can get pregnant then we have as much say about abortion as a women.

    The medical examples you cite as the justification for abortion are not even accurate. One of the most egregious examples above #2 and I quote, “After 20 weeks she miscarries. They are devastated and go to the doctor. The doctor performs an abortion to pull the now dead fetus out of the grieving wife’s body so she does not go into sepsis.” A miscarriage would mean that the baby would not be present in the woman any longer and if the doctor needed to perform a medical procedure to remove tissue it would be a D & C or a Dilation and curettage. You purposefully call it an abortion to make a deceptive political point that could injure an already susceptible family after a miscarriage. By the way, what you are describing is a stillbirth not a miscarriage. They don’t need to feel guilty for an abortion when under no circumstances this ever would be called an abortion. Also in point #3, the arm implant is not defined as an abortion under Utah or any other States abortion law. It causes a women to be infertile. Your other examples are deceptive and destructive. Point #1, A couple that KNOWS? (how) they can’t afford another baby should be able to get and abortion or take a pill to cause one. That justifies every abortion on the planet. Every newlywed couple, could abort on this excuse. Only rich and affluent couples would qualify to have babies. This robs the couple of the growth that can and would occur if they had the baby, worked hard, and had the faith to follow through with God’s plan.

    Using deceptive language, mislabeling medical procedures and using examples that are less than one percent (save the life of the mother)
    does not make your case stronger it destroys the very point you are trying to make. Maybe you could bring up all of the abortions around the world where an abusive man or government bullies and forces abortions on wives, girlfriends, minorities (Uyghurs), or women (China one child policy). Maybe you would have some standing on fighting for women if you made both arguments?
  • Caitie Wright
    commented 2022-07-02 17:49:51 -0700
    I love this perspective. Thank you for sharing!
  • Caitie Wright
    commented 2022-07-02 17:49:31 -0700
    I love this perspective. Thank you for sharing!
  • Matt Gardner
    published this page in Blog 2022-07-02 05:48:34 -0700

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