By Garrett Kell – erlc.com – February 28, 2018

In the summer of 1998, a friend and I spent an evening together. A few weeks later she told me she was pregnant, and it was mine. Neither of us expected it, and neither of us felt ready to raise a child together. We were not in love and thought it would be better to go our separate ways with a clean slate. So we chose to have an abortion.

We gathered $400 from a friend and went to a clinic that prescribed us a pill. We drove to someone’s empty home, where we would spend the night. I got her a glass of water to take the pill. I held her hand while she cramped and cried. I was there as we ended the life of our unborn child.

Some choices leave scars. Our abortion was one of those choices. In the years since our decision, I’ve often reflected on what happened that summer. It has changed me. It has given me more compassion toward those who face the fear of an unplanned pregnancy.

God has brought healing and shown forgiveness that I do not deserve. You can read more about that here. My experience with the abortion is one reason I often speak about the issue—even when I’m asked to stop speaking about it.

It is her body

In recent days, I have had conversations with several women who have challenged me to remain silent about abortion. I’ve been told, “It is a woman’s body; she has the right to choose what to do with it,” and, “You’re a man; you have no right to tell a woman what to do with her body.”

I am sensitive to their request. A woman’s body is given to her as a gift from God. It should never be touched in ways she does not permit. A man does not have the right to force her to use her body against her will. Her body is hers and that must be respected.

Abortion is not just about a mother’s choice. It is also about a father’s responsibility.

No man can truly understand the joys of pregnancy or the fears of an unexpected pregnancy. Men have their own related hopes and sorrows, but there is a unique way a woman hopes for her womb to be filled with life. There is also a unique sorrow women know when that life ends through miscarriage or the choice of abortion. As Proverbs 14:10 says, “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.”

It’s not only her body

Yet, the fact that it is a woman’s body does not capture the whole truth. When a woman becomes pregnant, her body is not solely hers any longer. It also belongs to her child.  …

To see more of this article, click read more.

Source: Why an unwanted pregnancy is about the baby and the father, too