Americans love to celebrate Father’s Day. We delight in honoring those men who by the Creator’s design are fulfilling their call to provide for and protect their families.
In the midst of our celebrations let us remember the anguish of the Forgotten Fathers.
Research on men involved with an abortion decision revealed that eight percent are seriously adversely impacted by the event. This means that nearly five million men are “walking wounded” struggling emotionally to get through each day. Millions more suffer to lesser degrees.
The sheer number demonstrates that grieving fathers are everywhere in society. They occupy a place in churches, are on golf courses, in grocery stores, play on softball teams, or are in workplace environments.
Many feel isolated, thinking they are the only one who suffers. Even worse, they have abandoned the idea of once again feeling whole and forgiven. Countless others suffer from the emotional trauma of abortion but haven’t linked their pain to its root cause.
My first experience with the reality that men hurt too was in the early eighties. The son of the president of our local right to life chapter died by suicide because he could no longer live with the pain and sorrow caused when his girlfriend aborted their baby.
Though largely unnoticed and unseen, these grieving dads are great in number and struggle under the unrelenting weight of grief, shame, and remorse. These men are in desperate need of help. That is why this week my daily radio commentary, Life Issues, is dedicated to them. The series is called Forgotten Fathers and each program deals with men who have been impacted by the loss of a child to abortion.
Prominently featured on the radio series landing page is a website designed by the Men and Abortion Network (MAN) for the purpose of aiding these hurting fathers and those who want to help them. It offers a wide variety of resources to help men regain their lost fatherhood.
We also offer an online portal for men to request a free mentor counselor in close proximity to their location, someone who can walk with them through the healing process.
Abortion has taken an incalculable toll on our nation. America’s churches are a natural environment to begin the path to healing. If church leaders understood the full magnitude of abortion’s toll on men, and the opportunity it presented for ministering to their souls, they would prioritize outreach programs to help them. We have the tools to get them started and if needed, the expertise to advise them along the way.
Make this Father’s Day the catalyst for ministering to these Forgotten Fathers who are all around us. Show them that there is hope and healing after abortion.
Helping fathers and protecting life,
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