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One of the most persistent and obvious lies in American politics is the notion that the pro-life movement is driven entirely by men and women are almost all abortion fanatics. It's so clearly untrue that its persistence is at testament to the power of modern propaganda.
One of the primary purposes of this lie is to bully men out of expressing pro-life views. Few pro-life women seem intimidated by the claim that all women love abortion, but plenty of men believe they're not allowed to oppose it.
The success of the pro-life cause is amazing when you consider half the population has been sternly lectured for their entire lives that if they aren't all-in for abortion on demand, they must be members of an oppressive religious patriarchy.
It's a message reinforced by popular culture, which usually portrays pro-lifers as maniacs, especially the male ones. Hard to find a heroic or even sympathetic portrayal of an outspokenly pro-life man, while "men aren't allowed to have an opinion on this" is a constant theme.
The propaganda works because many men don't really *want* to have an opinion about abortion. They're relieved to be let off the hook. "I'm a man so it's none of my business" is the high-speed off-ramp from difficult debates about life, responsibility, and sexual morality.
Believing that pregnancy involves only one person, not three, is so much simpler and easier. It's not true, of course, but it's a convenient lie that serves as a shield for some and a cudgel for others.
It's a lie powerful enough to deform an entire civilization. The implications of subtracting two human beings from the most powerful of moral equations are profound. Forcing millions of people to believe such a potent lie causes tremendous cognitive dissonance.
To maintain their power, abortion extremists seduce and intimidate men to ignore the inner voice telling them a new life is on the line, and they are part of it, *responsible* for it. Generations of increasingly infantile and self-absorbed men are happy to escape from that.
Men should be taking umbrage at the assertion they have nothing to say about pregnancy and the fate of children. Instead, many wipe their brows and say, "Whew, glad I'm off the hook for that!" Others are uneasy but eager to show they aren't oppressive misogynist patriarchs.
The latter impulse is nourished by the lie that almost all women are ardently pro-abortion. Young men are not eager to strongly express views that will make them radioactive to girls. If they think hardly any girls are pro-life, they'll keep their mouths shut.
The truth, which is so obvious that left-wing media must work around the clock to conceal it, is that a LOT of women are strongly pro-life. Many of the movement's leaders and most articulate voices are women. They don't expect men to keep silent or respect them for doing so. /end
