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Manly Men Are Pro-Life

The Planned Parenthood sting videos, and a pro-life wife, are changing a columnist's mind
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Columnist Ruben Navarrette says he used to be pro-choice, but he’s wavering now after having watched the Planned Parenthood videos. His pro-life wife is pinning him to the mat. Excerpt:

As I’ve only realized lately, to be a man, and to declare yourself pro-choice, is to proclaim your neutrality. And, as I’ve only recently been willing to admit, even to myself, that’s another name for “wimping out.”

At least that’s how my wife sees it. She’s pro-life, and so she’s been tearing into me every time a new video is released. She’s not buying my argument that, as a man, I have to defer to women and trust them to make their own choices about what to do with their bodies. To her, that’s ridiculous—and cowardly.

“You can’t stand on the sidelines, especially now that you’ve seen these videos,” she told me recently. “That’s bullshit! These are babies that are being killed. Millions of them. And you need to use your voice to protect them. That’s what a man does. He protects children—his own children, and other children. That’s what it means to be a man.”

I didn’t like the scolding, but I needed to hear it. For those of us who are pro-choice, the Planned Parenthood videos are a game changer. As to whether that means I’ll change my view, I’m not sure. I’m on the bubble. Ask me in a few weeks, after the release of more videos.

As it happens, I know Ruben and his wife; he and I used to work together at the Dallas Morning News. Trust me when I say that Mrs. Navarrette is a strong Latina. I didn’t know she was pro-life, but I’m not at all surprised by the line she’s taken here. Good for her, and good for Ruben and his changing mind and heart. Time to go all the way, though.

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