A Woman's Critique of a Man's Point of View

In his blog post, “Bro-Choice: How #HB2 Hurts Texas Men Who Like Women,” Burnt Orange Report writer Ben Sherman details how the anti-abortion bill, that was at the time still being debated in the Texas legislature, would effect the men of Texas. Targeting “guys who like girls” as he puts it, he says that men should not support the bill and should instead stand with the pro-choice side of the debate. I do agree with Sherman that the government should not be involved in a women’s personal choice, however, I do not necessarily agree with every aspect of his reasoning.

            Initially, I agreed with Sherman because he began by stating, “Most of us have female friends, mothers, sisters, roommates that we care about, and who we think know better what to do with their reproductive health than a bunch of legislators. Obviously we should stand up for them.” Men should be backing the women in their lives, whether the woman is for or against the bill, because for the most part, a woman knows what is best for them. Overall, I do agree with most of Sherman’s reasoning, including that it could put the woman’s life in danger because the bill would force a majority of abortion clinics across the state to close, causing black markets for unsafe abortions to crop up. He also says it would take away a man’s freedom to choose as well, which is true if the woman wants to make the decision with the man that was involved as well. This could also affect a couple’s decision on when and if they want to have children. The issue I have with Sherman is in his last point, that the bill puts a man’s sex life at stake. Granted, this is something that research has said men think about constantly, but it should not affect whether a man supports a woman’s right to choose. He goes on to make it sound as though women count on abortions to fix mistakes that they make, which may be the sad truth in some cases, but for the majority of women, this is not something that they want to go through and women take multiple precautions in order to avoid an unplanned pregnancy. I understand that it is an appealing argument for men, but I do not agree with the way that Sherman spins this aspect of it. All in all, I do agree with Sherman that men should support a women’s right to choose and I understand that his reasoning is appealing for men, even if it is partially flawed from a woman’s point of view.