I believe my daughter has a fundamental right to life.

I believe it would be cowardly to hide behind my wife if a robber broke into our house.

I believe my son should never hit a girl.

Does this make me Anti-Woman?

Three recent news stories have made it seem so:

• In Philadelphia, an 11-year old girl fought for her right to play offensive tackle in a Catholic Youth Organization football league.
• In my home state, the legislature passed a law banning abortion after 12 weeks.
• In the US, the Secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff signed a directive lifting the military ban of women serving in combat.

In all three cases, the position I took was deemed anti-woman.

I have a four year old son. I’m teaching him that, as a man, he was created with strength. The strength he has been given is not for his own benefit, but is to be used to help others. Specifically, it is given to him to assist women and children.

What God has given him to help others is never to be used at the expense of others. Put in the language of a 4 year old: you never hit a girl. This doesn’t mean girls can take a hit. It doesn’t mean he is better than them. It doesn’t mean he will always be stronger than them. It simply means, he cannot use what God has given him at their expense. You don’t hit a girl.

If a day comes and he decides to play football and the school allows a girl to play, he will not. You don’t hit a girl. Even if a coach tells you to, you don’t hit a girl. Even if everyone says its okay, you don’t hit a girl. Even if means you can’t play, you don’t hit a girl.

My daughter has Down syndrome. When the diagnosis of Down syndrome is made in a pregnancy, 95% of babies are aborted. Diagnosis or not, more girls are aborted than boys. I want to protect children who have a diagnosis like my daughter because I know the value they have and the value they bring to this world. I believe a baby girl has just as much value as a baby boy. Because I want to protect little girls, I believe abortion is wrong.

My grandparents were married for 70 years. During that time, my grandmother never pumped her own gas. It wasn’t below her. It wasn’t that she lacked the ability. She never pumped her own gas because in my grandfather’s mind that was his job. It was a sign of respect. Just as she served him in a number of ways, he served her in a number of ways. This was one.

In his mind, another way a man was called to serve a woman is to fight for them. As a military recruiter, he couldn’t imagine sending a daughter to war. It wasn’t because they lacked the ability. It wasn’t because they were second class. It wasn’t because they would fail. He couldn’t imagine sending a daughter to war, because men were to honor women by fighting for them.

I understand the recent change in Department of Defense policy was caching up with the practice in which women already served in combat. And I’m firmly believe women should be recognized for the work they are doing and rewarded with equal pay and access to leadership roles. However, why didn’t we debate the role of women in combat when the practice changed to put them in harms way?

As I read the Genesis account of Creation, it is clear that men and women are created equal. In generations past, the failure to recognize the lack of equality has been an abomination to God and has carried terrible consequences for humanity. Far too often, women have suffered at the hand of sinful men. As the son of a working mother, the husband of a working wife, the brother of a working sister, and the father of a daughter, I’m proud of the advancements we have made in creating opportunity for little girls to grow up and pursue what they want to pursue. However, as we correct the inequality, our generations sin may be the denial of differences between the sexes. As past generations have denied equality, we are quickly deny differences. We have confused being created equal with the concept of being created the same. We are not the same. We have different expectations and responsibilities.

Yet in a society where there is no difference, honor is lost. The uniqueness of the sexes is forsaken. And suddenly it is okay for old men to send our daughters to fight their battles; it’s acceptable to stop the beating of a little girls heart when one might let the little boy live; and its seen as normal for boys to hit girls. I think this is wrong. I think as a man, my god-given responsibility is fight for my wife, protect my little girl, and teach my son that boys do not hit girls.

We live in a day in which this thought is anti-woman.