A recent study found that nearly four in 10 men say that they had the most influence on their wife’s or girlfriend’s decision to terminate a pregnancy.
Lifeway Research and Care Net, and evangelical network of crisis pregnancy centers, sponsored the study of 1,000 men with female partners who received an abortion.
According to the study, 74 percent of men reported that their female partner talked with them before having an abortion. About 48 percent said their partner spoke with a medical professional, and 38 percent said the woman spoke with her mother.
The Christian Post, reports that about 38 percent of men said they had the most influence on the decision. Eighteen percent said a medical professional had the most influence, and 14 percent said it was the woman’s mother. Only 4 percent said the most influence on the decision came from an abortion provider.
“In 2015, when we surveyed women who had an abortion, they indicated men were the most influential factor in their decision,” Care Net CEO Roland Warren said in a statement.
“Care Net recognized that despite this influence, the role of men had not yet been explored. This new study directly examines their feelings and experiences when the decision to have an abortion was made.”
The study also found that 42 percent had either “strongly urged” or “suggested” that their female partner get an abortion. About 31 percent said they did not offer any advice.
About 34 percent of respondents were married to the woman who received an abortion, and 29 percent were “living together.” Another 29 percent were “seeing each other.”
During a webinar last week, the executive director of the Alabama-based pregnancy resource center Sav-A-Life Vestavia, Lisa Hogan, said her clinic has “worked very hard” to better include fathers.
“When a mom calls to make an appointment for a pregnancy test or an ultrasound, specifically if they are abortion-minded … we encourage them to bring the father of the baby to the appointment,” said Hogan.
“We have male advocates who are trained to meet with [the fathers], one-on-one, to have a conversation, to coach them through this, to give them a voice in the process.”
Photo courtesy: GettyImages/fizkes
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
