NY Men’s March

You could hear their voices raised in prayer from down the street as they approached the rally site
for the june 3rd National Men’s March this past Saturday in Albany, New York. Their purpose? To abolish
abortion and rally for the personhood of the preborn.
The March had begun at 9am over 3 miles away at the Albany, New York, Planned Parenthood
where over 100 men joined together to pray, and were now making their way to the Immaculate
Conception Cathedral where a group of speakers waited to address them at the “Rally for
Personhood”.
“There is a man connected to every abortion”, their web site says; “Men are a big part of the
problem. It’s time for men to become a big part of the solution and for all people of good will to
stand up for the full federal protection of the preborn without exception.”
The Mens March is a grassroots movement begun by Jim Havens of Stations of the Cross Radio and
Father Stephen Imbarrato. Since its inception there have been seven marches, six on the east coast
and one San Antonio drawing men from all over the country, calling them to authentic manhood.
Manhood like many other things in these times, has been hijacked by our culture which has stripped
men of their authenticity and caused confusion and division, damaging the relationship God
intended between men and women.
I happened to be one of the speakers at the rally.
As a woman who had been abandoned as a pregnant teenager by both my father and the father of
my unborn child, it was, quite frankly, overwhelming for me to look out into this crowd of men
standing before me seeking to protect women and the preborn.
My personal experience had left me unable to trust, not only men in my life, but more to believe in
the unconditional love of the Father who never abandons us. I could not help but think how
different life would have been if my father and/or my baby’s father would have supported me in my
pregnancy, but instead I caved into the pressures of a coerced abortion, not unlike countless other
women who cave into pressures to terminate their pregnancies.
But men too are often victims of the abortion culture.
Millions of men have been robbed of their children having been made to feel they had no right to
have a say in a pregnancy because they were not physically carrying the baby. This pressure often
leads to misguided compassion leaving the woman to make the decision on whether to bring the
pregnancy to term and abolishing all legal rights of the father. Ironically, these same men are often
later met with anger if the woman suffers because of the abortion, wondering why they had not been
protected.
Other men used abortion to live selfish, uncommitted lives, pressuring women to abort or
threatening them with abandonment or even physical consequences if she chose to have the baby.
There have even been women who have been murdered for refusing to terminate a pregnancy.

Many men are married to women who have had a prior abortion and struggle with intimacy. This
and other trust issues seep into their marriage because their spouse has not received healing from a
past abortion. Some men are not even aware and are left to wonder why their spouse is withdrawn
and that abortion is the reason for their marital struggles.
Lastly, only God knows how many men are unaware of sons and daughters they have fathered who
have been aborted without their knowledge.
Eighteen years ago, the Entering Canaan Ministry for those hurt by abortion, saw the need for men
to have their own space for healing from its devastation, and so in 2005 began a Men’s retreat
specifically for those men who were suffering the loss of a child through abortion, as well as those
men married to a woman who has an abortion in her past. It has been a huge blessing for those who
have come forward.
As one retreatant shared, “One thing I have discovered these 29 years of marriage is that one thing that affects one
of us affects us both. This “thing called abortion” that occurred before we even met has had more of an impact on our
marriage relationship than anything else.”
Or another; “I thought I was alone. I would never think of talking about those dark feelings that lived inside of me.
Then I took that step of healing, I attended the men’s Entering Canaan healing day, and my life has not been the
same. I am still a work in progress, but I know now that God has forgiven me, and I am learning to live with the
reality of what I did.”
I am excited about this movement of the National Men’s March. A movement that is sure to prompt
men to proclaim the truth and perhaps bring many who are currently out there suffering alone in for
healing. Men have the right to speak for their children.
Our world needs good Godly men willing to love unconditionally and to help carry the cross of
abortion by supporting women in unplanned pregnancies, reaching out to those who are separated
from God because of abortion and working for a constitutional amendment for personhood of the
preborn.
As for us women, we need the strength, love, and protection of men in the way God Himself
intended. It brought me great joy to see this movement in action this past weekend. It is truly a
movement of God’s love. A movement that will heal division, unite families, and speak the truth to a
world drowning in lies.
Next up? Boston Men’s March in September of 2023 and August 19, 2023, for the next Entering
Canaan Mens Day Retreat.
May this Father’s Day call countless numbers of men to the healing grace of God and the courage
and strength to take a stand in truth as God intended from the beginning.