Roe v. Wade: If Men Won’t Keep Opinion to Themselves, At Least Keep Hands to Yourself

(Todd A. Smith)

Abortion rights have dominated the news for the better part of 2022.

Even in December 2021, news started to spread that the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that ruled that women had a constitutional right to an abortion.

Despite the news trickling out over the last few weeks that the court would send the abortion rights issue back to the states, RegalMag.com stayed out of the fray because of the belief that men should not interject their opinion on an issue that impacts women more than men.

And RegalMag.com is an online magazine dedicated to issues affecting Black men.

But no matter what side a man stands on, pro-life or pro-choice, no man who says he cares about women can stay silent when a man allegedly physically assaults a woman who is speaking her mind about an issue that is unique to womanhood.

Attacking a woman because she is pro-choice only makes it more believable when pro-choice activists assert that pro-life activists do not care at all about women.

For the record, as a Christian I am pro-life except for pregnancies that result from rape, incest or those that would put a woman’s health/life at risk.

But because I am a man, I usually keep that view to myself.

However, as a Christian I would not force my beliefs on someone, especially if I would never face a dilemma like carrying a baby from an unwanted pregnancy.

Just like so many on the right urge celebrities to stay out of politics because they do not face the same problems that regular people face, men should stay out of issues like abortion because they will never ever be able to relate to what women go through.

And pregnancies and possible abortions are things that women might have to deal with regardless of their fame or wealth.

Unfortunately, that logic did not stop Jeann Lugo, an off-duty Rhode Island police officer and state Senate candidate, from allegedly putting his hands on a woman protesting the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

To make matters worse, the woman he allegedly assaulted was fellow Rhode Island Senate candidate, Jen Rourke.

Dan Mangan of CNBC reported, “A Providence, Rhode Island, police officer who had been running for state Senate as a Republican was arrested Saturday on charges related to his alleged physical assault of his female political opponent at an abortion rights rally a day earlier.

“The arrest of patrolman Jeann Lugo came hours after a video of his alleged attack while off-duty on Jen Rourke, outside the Rhode Island State House went viral on Twitter, his administrative suspension from the Police Department, and his quitting the Senate race.

“Lugo, 35, was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, the State police said in a press release.”

The former candidate for Rhode Island’s Senate has three years of experience as a police officer.

He will next appear in court on July 8.

Obviously, men and women can disagree on issues.

Obviously, times have changed in recent decades when it comes to gender roles.

Nevertheless, things should never change to the extent that men are no longer protectors and defenders of our women.

If a male cannot have a civil disagreement with a woman without resorting to violence, then he is a coward and not truly a man.

And no man that is violent towards women should ever hold an office that allows him to have a say-so on legislation that will impact women.

But I guess to some males, the good ole days were the days when women stayed pregnant in the kitchen and got punched by their old man whenever they got out of line.

If that is true, those males have another thing coming.

When people get accustomed to their freedom and understand their power, they will never go away quietly or go backwards.

About the alleged assault, Rourke, who is Black, said, “This is what it is to be a Black woman running for office. I won’t give up.”

The alleged assault on Rourke comes the same week that two Black women serving as election workers in Georgia, Shaye Moss and her mother “Lady Ruby” Freeman, testified to the Jan. 6 Select Committee about the threats made on their lives after former President Donald Trump singled them out because they did not go along with Big Lie of election fraud.

And Trump, and people of his ilk, are the same type of people that some White evangelicals parade as the second coming of Jesus Christ.

That type of nonsense makes the Christian faith look worse than it ever has since slavery.

How can people win souls to Christ when the people that supposedly represent Christ are so un-Christian with their behavior towards women and other minorities?

Many Christians have praised the high court’s ruling on abortion and school prayer.

But no amount of proselyting will win souls to Christ if the behavior of some Christians does not begin to change and change very soon.

And a person cannot preach about protecting the life and the welfare of the unborn if they do not value the people already in the land of the living (insert your marginalized group here).

Those type of people can never call themselves pro-life.

Not saying that Lugo is a Christian or not, but people should be able to discern who is Christian or not based on behavior, not just words and the political candidates they support.

Until more Christians realize that, our faith and beliefs will not look very appealing to people on the outside looking in.

And if we never realize that, negative views of Christians and Christianity will dominate social media and other avenues of life, instead of the true message of Jesus Christ, which is love, forgiveness and acceptance of all people who believe in Him, regardless of the gut-wrenching decisions that person may have made or their opinion on hot-button issues.

Todd A. Smith
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