This article originally appeared in December 2015.
By Emily Brown
Did you know that college-aged women account for more than one-third of all abortions? One in 10 women will have an abortion by the age of 20! That statistic only worsens as women get older, becoming one in every four by the age of 30.
Sadly, this is our reality. Young women in their teens and twenties are having abortions more than anyone could imagine. So what is it that makes women seek abortion as the answer to an unplanned pregnancy? I do not believe it is hatred toward the child, but instead a mixture of feelings—from fear to confusion—and ignorance about the pain and sorrow they will eventually feel once the reality of what they have done sinks in.
Let’s back up further and address the culture that fosters this lack of respect for human persons—this culture that leads women (and men) to think that killing a child is an acceptable option. I believe it comes from the mentality of today’s throw-away culture. When women feel that they are something to be used, any product of that behavior can be discarded as well. These women are often having sex or “hooking up” indiscriminately and on a regular basis. And if a child should be created, they likely feel that the easy option is to just “get rid” of the problem.
The fact that college-aged women are having abortions should be no surprise. On most campuses sex, alcohol, birth control, and condoms are pushed on students relentlessly and without shame. Trust me, as a recent college graduate, I know because I have seen this. Not a single weekend went by where one of my friends did not hook up with a guy. Almost every weekend the individual man hooking up with my friends would change. However the situation was always the same. Every weekend my girlfriends were looking for love. They were looking for a man to truly appreciate them and show them that he cares and loves them. And after a few drinks and smooth pick-up lines, they would end up having sex.
This is nothing unheard of. In fact, this same story plays out repeatedly on every campus every single weekend. Girls are made to feel like if they want a man to truly love them they must give up what is most valuable to them.
Because of this hooking up culture, men and women do not understand the true meaning of romance. True romance is selfless, meaning a person sacrifices his wants and needs for another. So, maybe a person’s passions or even friends are pushing him to have sex. But young people must not lose sight of that selfless love—a love that necessitates both partners wait until the sacrament of marriage to fully give themselves to a partner and to be open to love and to life.
Young women need to know that they are worthy of this true romance. They do not have to conform to the hooking up culture.
This is what is missing on college campuses. Young people usually do not hear about selfless love or abstinence on campus. Instead, condoms, birth control, alcohol, and sex are pushed and seen as normal. These then lead to confusion, pain, misunderstanding of love, and, worst of all, abortion.
We can and must put a stop to this chaos! It begins with educating our young men and women. If they understand true romance and respect themselves and others, then not only will the hooking up culture diminish, but the abortion rate will diminish as well. This can and will happen!
When one young person goes against the tide, standing firm against the culture’s hedonistic mindset and living a virtuous life, others will follow. Are you ready to be that person?
Emily Brown, the granddaughter of Judie Brown, graduated magna cum laude from Mount St. Mary’s University with a bachelor’s degree in special and elementary education and a minor in theology in May 2015. After two years as president of Life Defenders, Emily now teaches elementary school in Spotsylvania, Virginia.
