I read in the Spanish El Periódico de Aragón the other day that a pregnant woman has been encouraged to denounce her partner, of Algerian origin, for beating her because he wanted her to have an abortion.
It is an extreme case of a reality that hides the main reason why many women are forced to allow someone to take away the human life inside them: the pressure of the father of the child. Faced with an unwanted pregnancy, the woman, obeying her maternal instinct, will seek the necessary means to bring forth a child she already knows is hers. But all too often the father of the child pressures her to have an abortion… after all, the man does not want “problems” and shifts the burden of his responsibility onto a woman who will eventually give in to the pressure. It is a harsh reality, but that is how it is.
Few women actually have abortions freely. If it were up to them, they would receive the necessary understanding and help as they know that their desire is to bring their child to term. But too often the chronic machismo of bad men prevails: they abandon the woman with “her” problem.
We must all do more to protect our women and their desire to have a child. Motherhood is among the highest callings of a woman and we need to respect and honor it. No one should be allowed to take that gift away from women.