Ruben Navarrette Jr., columnist at The Daily Beast, admitted that he has never—not in 2,000 columns—written about abortion.
He also admitted that “For the last 30 years, I’ve supported abortion rights.”
But both of those facts changed in light of the Planned Parenthood videos, combined with his own wife’s prodding.
Navarrette writes:
“…I’m pro-choice. At least I thought I was until recently. These days, each time, I express concern, outrage, disgust, or horror over another video—which should come with warnings that they may produce nightmares—some supporter of the organization responds by attacking me and insisting that I was never really pro-choice to begin with.”
So why and how did Navarrette form his pro-choice position three decades ago He explains:
“I arrived there for a simple reason: Because I’m a man. Many will say that this is not a very good reason, but it is my reason. Lacking the ability to get pregnant, and thus spared what has been for women friends of mine the anguishing decision of whether to stay pregnant, I’ve remained on the sidelines and deferred to the other half of the population.
Over time, I made refinements—going along with waiting periods and parental notification laws at the state level, and coming out against the barbaric practice known as partial birth abortion.
As I’ve only realized lately, to be a man, and to declare yourself pro-choice, is to proclaim your neutrality. And, as I’ve only recently been willing to admit, even to myself, that’s another name for “wimping out.”
At least that’s how my wife sees it. She’s pro-life, and so she’s been tearing into me every time a new video is released. She’s not buying my argument that, as a man, I have to defer to women and trust them to make their own choices about what to do with their bodies. To her, that’s ridiculous—and cowardly.
“You can’t stand on the sidelines, especially now that you’ve seen these videos,” she told me recently. “That’s bullshit! These are babies that are being killed. Millions of them. And you need to use your voice to protect them. That’s what a man does. He protects children—his own children, and other children. That’s what it means to be a man.”
I didn’t like the scolding, but I needed to hear it. For those of us who are pro-choice, the Planned Parenthood videos are a game changer. As to whether that means I’ll change my view, I’m not sure. I’m on the bubble. Ask me in a few weeks, after the release of more videos.
It is human nature to form an intellectual position and then defend it for the remainder of our lives. So for Navarrette to admit he is considering a change from his pro-choice position is something to respect him for—and encourage him to not stop until he has shifted all the way.
And, without celebrating too early, let’s just take note that columns like Navarrette’s took 30 years to write…which is to say, something historic may be happening right now.
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