Abortion isn’t only a women’s issue. Here are three ways that fatherhood and abortion intersect.
(1) The importance of supportive fathers. According to the Guttmacher Institute, half of women having abortions say (as a reason) that they do not want to be a single parent or they are having trouble with their partner. A 2009 study published in the International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction found that pregnant women who felt they lacked support from the child’s father were more likely to choose abortion.
(2) The effect of abortion on fathers. Abortion can detrimentally affect men just as it can women. Fathers may experience grief, guilt, anger, depression and other psychological consequences following abortion. Books like “Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing”; “Redeeming a Father’s Heart: Fatherhood Aborted”; and “Men and Abortion: Losses, Lessons and Love” have explored this issue.
(3) Defending the unborn. Pro-choice advocates sometimes say that only women may speak about abortion, and many men are silent or have their opinions disregarded. But the case against abortion is sound irrespective of the gender (or any other characteristic) of an individual making it.
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