{"id":166087,"date":"2017-05-16T10:36:30","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T14:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=166087"},"modified":"2017-05-15T22:44:52","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T02:44:52","slug":"why-men-need-to-stop-being-silent-about-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/why-men-need-to-stop-being-silent-about-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Why men need to stop being silent about abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Save the Storks<\/a>)\u00a0We had been dating for about two months when my girlfriend, Renae, got pregnant. We were both in our forties, and since I didn\u2019t have any children of my own, I was excited about the prospect of being a father for the first time. However, Renae had older children and I knew that she was not excited about the idea of raising a young child again.<\/p>\n

While neither of us believe that abortion is right, Renae said it would be the easiest option. I didn\u2019t agree, but I respected her decision and kept quiet.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later we planned to meet each other at the abortion clinic before work. I arrived first. It was a quiet morning\u2014the parking lot was nearly empty and the clinic wasn\u2019t open yet. I leaned my back against the brick building and waited for Renae to come.<\/p>\n

As I was waiting, a large blue bus pulled into the parking lot. A woman hopped out and started walking towards me. She introduced herself and asked if I was waiting for someone or if I needed directions. I guess I looked a little lost. I told her that I was waiting for my girlfriend.<\/p>\n

I asked her about the van and she told me she worked for an organization that helped pregnant women discover options outside of abortion. I began to feel even more conflicted\u2014I knew\u00a0abortion wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The woman made me feel comfortable, so I told her why I was there. She gave me information about other options we might consider and brought me pamphlets that I could offer to Renae.<\/p>\n

When Renae pulled up to the clinic, we sat in her car and I told her about the conversation I had with the women by the bus. We looked through the pamphlets together and then she asked me what I wanted. I told her that I wanted to be a father and that I would raise the child if she couldn\u2019t or didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

Through tears, she shared that she was shocked I wanted the keep the child and was thankful I was speaking my mind. While I thought my silence was showing her respect and love, it made her feel like I didn\u2019t care. Telling her I didn\u2019t want her to have an abortion showed her that I cared for her and would not leave her alone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This comforted her greatly and made her excited to have a baby again! While this process has not been easy, it has brought us closer to one another and we are very excited to be parents together.<\/p>\n

That moment in the car with Renae was life-changing. Society had me convinced that in order to stand for women\u2019s rights, I shouldn\u2019t speak my mind. But, what I realized is that I didn\u2019t have to abandon my convictions in order to care for women. Instead, the best way for me to love and empower Renae was to tell her how I felt and assure her I would stand by her and our child. That is likely the most pro-woman thing I could have ever done.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Save the Storks<\/a> on May 5, 2017, and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Save the Storks)\u00a0We had been dating for about two months when my girlfriend, Renae, got pregnant. We were both in our forties, and since I didn\u2019t have any children of my own, I was excited about the prospect of being a father for the first time. However, Renae had older children and I knew that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":464,"featured_media":97938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy men need to stop being silent about abortion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Telling her I didn\u2019t want her to have an abortion showed her that I cared for her and would not leave her alone."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/why-men-need-to-stop-being-silent-about-abortion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why men need to stop being silent about abortion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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