Former New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson called on men to “step up” and prevent more abortions by fulfilling their responsibilities, during a Wednesday night appearance on “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
Debate over the issue of abortion was reinvigorated recently when New York state passed a law that loosened restrictions last month. The bill expands abortion access and codifies a woman’s right to abort under state law. Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam made comments supportive of a similar bill in Virginia last week.
President Donald Trump also talked about late-term abortions in his Tuesday night State of the Union address.
“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days,” Trump said.
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“We’re living in a time, Martha, of abortion on demand. We’re living in a time of relativism, and while I would agree that hopefully these happen in very rare instances where someone would wait nine months before having an abortion,” Watson began. “The fact still remains that—whether it’s at nine months or whether it’s at eight days or 18 days—when the heart is developing, when the baby is breathing, it’s still the same life.”
He continued, “So no matter what the reason is, science proves it, that this is an individual entity, this is an individual person with their own DNA, with their own dreams, with their own blood type even. And so it’s important to not only be people that stand for abortion as if it’s some sort of political stance, which it kind of turns into sometimes, but be someone that stands for whole life.” (RELATED: Trump Blasts Late-Term Abortion Legislation In SOTU Address)
“I mentioned before the image of Joe Manchin standing and applauding and then there were rows of women behind him who were not, who were not in favor of what the president was talking about,” MacCallum said. “What’s your message for men? You say even if it wasn’t demonstrated for you by a father, you can be different.”
Democratic women of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) (C), remain in their seats as Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) stands and applauds in front of them as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his second State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
“Look, men are in a role of leadership in many areas. Men are protectors. We are providers. Many women would not be seeking abortions if the men involved in their lives were doing what they were supposed to be doing. And that’s a challenge to myself, that’s a challenge to all men who are listening, that’s a challenge to men everyone to step up,” Watson added.