If We Want to End Abortion, We Need Stronger Fathers

By Jeff Bradford for TOWNHALL

I say “loved” because he passed away a few years ago. My family still gathers on Father’s Day to cook a big meal for each other, just like my dad did for us. He made us feel loved, known and led like nobody else could have.

But like every dad, he was imperfect.

I remember seeking his advice 32 years ago when my now-wife Tricia and I were trying to decide whether or not to abort our first child. He was the person we went to when we first found out we were pregnant during our wedding engagement.

He said we should go to Planned Parenthood. At the time, he counseled us out of love and with what he thought was wisdom. He thought he was helping us get our marriage started the right way — after all, my parents had divorced when I was 10. He didn’t want that for me or for Tricia.

And in the end, we did get an abortion. We regret that decision every day. We will regret it for the rest of our lives. It hurt us both deeply, ended the life of our first child, and permanently changed the course of our lives.

We were, of course, responsible for the act. But I wish now I had had the courage to stand up for that baby’s life. I wish I had stood by my wife and told her: This is our child. We will raise and cherish this baby together. You will be safe. None of the difficulties that seem so overwhelming to us right now will ever outweigh the gift of a child.

And part of that wish, of course, is a small, quiet, nagging wish that my father had encouraged me to do so. FULL STORY