Vivek explained why men also deserve a voice in speaking against abortion
Christopher Tremoglie
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After Tuesday’s election, abortion became a popular topic in conversations. Many claimed that the GOP needs a new strategy on abortion because there’s been a failure to connect with voters on the issue, according to the results of recent referendums around the country. Others wondered if Republicans should avoid the topic or change their approach. If that was the strategy, Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t get the memo. Furthermore, he was the only candidate who proudly offered the male perspective on why protecting the lives of the unborn is so essential.
“Speaking as a man, they say men have trouble speaking on this issue. I don’t think we need to be that way. It was my home state of Ohio — I’m upset about this — yesterday that passed a constitutional amendment that now effectively codifies a right to abortion all the way up to the time of birth without parental consent,” Ramaswamy said. “Why? It’s back to that Republican culture of losing. The Republicans did not have an alternative amendment or vision on the table.”
This is important because, well, it’s true. Republicans routinely embrace the pro-life movement, but, more often than not, that’s typically where it all ends. Some will tout pregnancy resource centers as alternatives, and others will advocate adoption, but those ideas rarely, if ever, see the light of day in the mainstream conversation. Ramaswamy mentioned all of these and then said the one thing in the abortion debate that doesn’t receive any attention or discussion whatsoever: responsible intercourse and procreation.
“If in the state of Ohio, we talked about access to contraception, adoption, and also here’s the missing ingredient in this movement, sexual responsibility for men,” Ramaswamy said. “We live in an era of reliable, genetic paternity tests that are 100% reliable. So, we can say men deserve more responsibility. So, we can tell women we’re all in this together. It’s not men’s rights versus women’s rights. It’s about human rights.”
Again, this is something traditionally ignored in the abortion debate. The narrative has been crafted around women’s rights or reproductive freedom, all the while forgetting that without a man engaging in intercourse with a woman, a natural pregnancy would not be possible. Men have rights, too, and they also have accountability. Ramaswamy was the first candidate I can ever recall even mentioning this. His bold response deserves applause.
Furthermore, he highlighted how the extermination of a pregnancy is indeed taking a life.
“Come back to the case that Clarence Thomas spoke of. If a pregnant woman walking down the street, she’s assaulted. The unborn child dies in that assault. You find me one person in this country who says that that criminal does not deserve liability for that death,” Ramaswamy said. “You won’t find one. That says we share the same instincts on this issue, but we require, I believe, a different generation of leadership to actually lead us forward and unite the country on this.”
Ramaswamy’s response was arguably the strongest of the night on the abortion issue. And, on a day when many “Republicans” called for the GOP to retreat on this cultural issue (once again), it was Ramaswamy who stood tall and explained why abandoning this issue must never happen. And he showed why now, maybe more than ever, men’s voices are urgently needed in protecting the lives of the unborn.