At today's First Way staff meeting, I gave a brief presentation about the psychological effects abortion can have on men. After all, it's their child, too. And, they are powerless to do anything. Beyond that, communication between the man and woman breaks down, because any opinion the man might have about saving his child may be seen as an affront to her "rights" as a woman.
The primary biological drive in a woman is to nurture children. The primary biological drive in a man is to protect his wife and children. When a woman chooses abortion without the agreement of the baby's father, not only is she going against her biological nature, but she forces a man to go against his biological nature as well. How can any of this be good for the human psyche?
Not all men who have lost a child to abortion will experience recognizable trauma any more than the child's mother did. The key word is "recognizable." Many men and women experience PTSD-like symptoms and cannot trace the symptoms to any traumatic event. People are experiencing this more and more now that abortion is increasingly seen not only as socially acceptable, but as a desirable alternative for a woman who finds herself pregnant. So, many men and women have no idea why they are suffering.
What happens to the relationship when a man and woman disagree about whether to abort? Once communication breaks down, the relationship is rarely salvaged. While this is an expected outcome when the couple disagree, statistically the majority of relationships do not survive post-abortion, even when the couple mutually agree to abort.
Abortion is not natural or healthy for women, men, relationships or families. Abortion may be considered good for careers, for independence and for gathering material financial success for men and women. Meanwhile, 60% of marriages are ending in divorce and 33% of women are having an abortion in at least one point in their lifetime. Since abortion has been legal, primary biological drives of men to protect and women to nurture are repressed. As men and women go against their natures, the concept of "family" has been less and less important, so no wonder we are seeing so few intact families. Abortion is both a causal factor and a symptom of the problem. How could abortion not be damaging psychologically to men, women and children?
Abortion is not a decision made by a woman that only affects herself and her body. Abortion affects the father of the child and society at large. Even for people who don't view human life as sacred or even worthy of respect, the wider ramifications of abortion should be of concern.
