The fact that pro-life men have cast most of the votes in states that have recently passed fetal heartbeat legislation has been the subject of intense scrutiny and ridicule by left-wing commentators and websites.
Their inflammatory comments have been repeated by the mainstream media as if to suggest the gender of the pro-life legislators was just one more reason to reject the passage of such bills outright. In fact, a quick Google search shows mainstream media outlets and left-wing websites alike promoting very similar stories from the “men passed these laws” angle.
Why the emphasis on their gender? It’s another in a long list of shut-uppery tactics Democrats both in and outside of the media use when trying to silence anti-abortion voices.
Another example of this is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The San Francisco Democrat — who is a mother of five children—recently suggested that those who haven’t had a lot of children have no right to participate in the debate.
“When you have five children in six years, we’ll have a conversation. Otherwise you have no standing whatsoever,” she told a crowd to applause.
Men, of course, can’t have children. So to Pelosi and other Democrats, a man should be disqualified from the debate over abortion rights — unless he’s also pro-choice. One wonders if she applies this same rule to women who either haven’t had children or who can’t have children? If she’s like other feminists, the answer is “yes.”
In the past, oftentimes Average Joe pro-life men have chosen to quietly support right to life causes. Why? They’ve known that if they’re too open about it they’ll be mocked because, to the left, they should have no say on the issue.
Pro-life men in government, on the other hand, aren’t afraid of voicing their opinions — and voting on the issue. Where these men trip up is not in passionately taking on the issue, but sometimes when they’re questioned on it. Just ask former Republican Congressman Todd Akin (MO), whose “legitimate rape” comments during an interview basically torpedoed his chances of defeating incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2012.
The lesson learned: Pro-life men running for office either need to be better prepared to answer questions about abortion, or they shouldn’t run at all. Because it’s not a question of “if” you’ll be asked these questions, but when.
Most pro-life women will tell you they would rather vote for a man who is anti-abortion than a woman who is pro-abortion. Because in deciding who to vote for, where a candidate stands on the issues should be the deciding factor, not their gender or race.
Another governor is preparing to sign a fetal heartbeat legislation soon. This governor is a man. When this governor’s wife was pregnant nearly thirty years ago, they were told their unborn daughter had spina bifida — and were advised to abort. When her husband found out, he said, “No, no. We’re going to love this baby no matter what.”
His wife said it was the moment “the boy I fell in love with become the man I’m still in love with today.”
The unborn child they were advised to abort is now married and is a public school counselor.
“I cannot imagine what our life would be without her,” the governor would say much later.
That governor is Louisiana’s John Bel Edwards, a Democrat.
There are many other pro-life male legislators who are also fathers. Some are brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins. They aren’t pro-life because they want to “control women.” They are pro-life because they can’t imagine life without their loved ones.
Democrats and their feminist allies want you to believe these men have “no standing” in the abortion debate. That’s just wrong.
All voices matter in this debate.
Stacey Matthews is a veteran blogger who has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to Red State and Legal Insurrection
