Yesterday I discovered two strong pro-life columns in, surprisingly, the New York Times. Pro-life columnist Ross Douthat expertly tackles some tough questions that are often thrown at pro-lifers, questions about men and abortion, poverty, back alley abortions, and the criminal implications if abortion becomes illegal again.

Douthat answers a series of questions posed by abortion activist Katha Pollitt. Though long, his thoughtful columns are worth reading.

For example, Pollitt asks: “Men. You want to force women to carry every pregnancy to term, but the fact that men can easily walk away does not seem to interest you much. What are the responsibilities of men to avoid getting women pregnant, to support them while they are pregnant, to provide for mother and child? And what measures would you promote to enforce those responsibilities?”

Douthat responds:

“… one of the more commonplace pro-life arguments is that the current abortion regime is itself a gift to men who want “to easily walk away,” itself a legal and cultural enabler of male irresponsibility, on a profound, society-altering scale. Here pro-lifers are fond of citing (as I’ve been known to do) the famous Janet Yellen and George Akerlof paper linking legal abortion and rising out-of-wedlock birthrates, which suggested — quite reasonably, I think — that Roe dramatically changed male incentives around sex and marriage, and significantly weakened the relational power of women when they do get pregnant: “By making the birth of the child the physical choice of the mother,” they wrote, “the sexual revolution has made marriage and child support a social choice of the father.” That argument obviously need not imply pro-life conclusions; indeed, Akerlof and Yellen are themselves pro-choice. But it lends the pro-life view of things a certain coherence on this front: We believe in male responsibility, and we think that your preferred policies, not ours, are the ones that made it far too easy for men to wash their hands of their most primal, powerful, essential responsibilities.”

The abortion issue does involve some tough questions, and they deserve serious consideration and thoughtful responses from us. It’s these questions that often influence people on the fence to hop to one side or the other. Douthat and great pro-life thinkers like Francis Beckwith provide strong, thoughtful pro-life answers that help those fence people see the truth about abortion.

It’s important that we learn from them so we can respond to the tough questions, too. Because we’re not just defending beliefs or philosophies here, we’re defending LIVES.