BOYS & MEN: Adulthood & decisions

Can we agree: part of maturing out of our youth is a growing comprehension and appreciation for others? Can we agree: a life well lived includes lessons learned, wisdom to be valued, emulated, and even trusted even if it runs contrary to common practice?

Can we get beyond lumping boys and girls into the discussion of abortion “rights” as compared to men and women? Teenagers are far from having reached a maturity level ready to handle adult decisions such as abortion.

During my early 20s, the prospect of having to deal with a baby resulting from casual sex was remote because I went along with the feminist mantra of it being the girl’s responsibility. After all, she could get an abortion, and I might be lucky to hear about it. This attitude impacted many girls’ approach to our evenings. Seems like an argument to stop excluding men from shared responsibility but I digress. In hindsight, I recognize now how selfish and foolhardy that belief was, to put it mildly.

It was not until my 50s that I understood the impact of the truth that the unplanned baby is innocent, regardless of how it came to be. By then, I had come to believe abortion was wrong except in certain conditions. But it took several more years of maturing to recognize the rights of the innocent child, regardless of the nature of conception.

Thankfully, there are countless couples who are joyful in adopting such babies. Not only are these couples blessed, but society is blessed when we exhibit the wisdom to recognize that protection of the innocent is non-negotiable in God’s eye.

JEFF ODLAND

Athol