They’ll call me a bigot, but I prefer to see myself as a realist.  So let’s jump into it.  The Today Show’s Jenna Wolfe dropped an unexpected bombshell into the national conversation over “gay marriage.”  She announced on air (and in her blog) that, “My girlfriend, Stephanie Gosk, and I are expecting a baby girl the end of August.”

First and foremost, I am pro-life.  Let’s just put that up front.  I love babies.  Children are life changing, and I’m sure Miss Wolfe is already finding that out.

However, I’m also like that little kid who yelled, “The king has no clothes!”  If there’s something to be said and no one wants to say it for fear of hurting the feelings of others, well, you’ll find me there.  Sorry to rain on your parade, but truth is truth.

So here we go.  The headline on the Today Show’s website starts out with the word “Surreal.”  But, in truth, it should read “Unreal.”  Jenna Wolfe and her girlfriend, Stephanie Gosk, are most certainly not expecting a baby girl at the end of August, not in the biological sense, anyway.

When a man and a woman unite in a sexual union, the woman provides the unfertilized egg and the man provides the sperm.  Those two things — biologically exclusive to members of the opposite sex — merge and the miracle of life begins.

So herein lies the crux of our dilemma: Miss Wolfe and Miss Gosk are both women.  That’s not an anti-“gay” statement; that’s a true statement.  Biologically speaking, they cannot, of their own volition, produce a child.  I’m sure they’re both nice women, but they need a man in order to have a baby.

And if they need a man in order to have a baby, then who can honestly say that this is the only contribution a man can make?  Who can honestly say that Miss Gosk can replace — truly and completely replace — the father who should be present in that child’s life?  Consider, if you will, all the social science data to date that shows that children do better in a traditional mom-and-dad household.  Which parent does the child not need?  A young lady asked that very question to a state legislature recently — “Which parent do I not need?” — and no one could answer her.

It may be politically correct to celebrate the news of Miss Wolfe’s pregnancy.  It may be politically correct to celebrate Miss Gosk’s role as the child’s “other parent.”  But it is selfish, and supremely so, to deny the child — and others like her — the benefit of either a mother or a father.  Two men cannot produce a child.  Two women cannot produce a child.  And neither of those familial arrangements is fair to the overall development of a child.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure Miss Gosk will be supportive and loving and caring to Miss Wolfe’s child; but she will never be — can never be — the child’s father.  And, to me, that’s just sad.

Today’s guest blogger is Christian Shelby, a volunteer with Concerned Women for America.

But unborn children need you more.

I thought it would be a lazy Tuesday morning; I thought everything would go smoothly.  But then, “You’ve got Mail!”  And, well, I’ll let you read it for yourself:

“There won’t be as many babies killed this year, but the slaughter is still moving forward.  We have made big strides, but our work isn’t finished yet! … 2013 must be the last year that the … slaughter takes place — and with your help, we can save … lives.  Please donate now — help us stop the senseless slaughter. … Unless something changes, without more help from … defenders like you, this horror will occur again.  Please donate today so that we can ramp up our campaign to stop the slaughter.  This massacre is a terrible price to pay. …”

Despite what you may think, this isn’t from any of the pro-life groups with which you’re familiar.  However, it is a pro-life message … for baby seals.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the adorable baby seals just as much as anyone else, but the Left’s obsession with saving anything but human babies is beginning to wear my patience thin.  I’m tired of hearing the women of my generation being urged to give up their world in order to “save the earth” — “courageously” killing our future in the name of “freedom of choice.”  I’m also tired of hearing about women like 29-year-old Jennifer Morbelli walking into abortion clinics and dying days later from “complications” after having their late-term children ripped from their wombs.

Over 4,000 children are aborted each day in America — over 4,000 children crying, screaming — no, shrieking in horror — for a chance at the same life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that the Left has twisted into a license to kill.  Over 4,000 children a day.  Is this not a “senseless slaughter”?  Is this, too, not a “massacre” in the truest sense of the word?

Groups like PETA bemoan the slaughter of baby seals and condemn the women who wear the furs.  But Left-leaning groups support the slaughter of innocent human children and ignore the women who are forced to wear their decision to abort on their hearts and consciences for the rest of their lives.

Where, oh liberal Left, is your compassion?

This hypocrisy — this cultural insanity — is what first drove me to work with groups like Concerned Women for America (CWA), which was founded after Beverly LaHaye heard NOW’s founder, Betty Friedan, claim to speak for the women of America.

Like me, Beverly knew this Leftist woman didn’t represent her beliefs or those of the vast majority of women.  And they still don’t.  NOW … NARAL … Planned Parenthood and the rest. … They don’t speak for me.  They don’t think for me.

And they shouldn’t speak or think for you.

It’s time to rise up, ladies.  It’s time to stand and take the microphone back from loudmouthed, liberal feminists who hate children.

It’s time to stand with Concerned Women for America.

Seal the deal.  Donate here.  But for pity’s sake, don’t just throw money at the problem.  Get involved in a state chapter of CWA or, if you’re in college, check out Young Women for America.  But whatever you do, do it today.  Because, “unless something changes,” the horror of abortion will occur again … and again … and again.

Today’s guest blogger is Christian Shelby, a volunteer with Concerned Women for America.

As the United States is about to go over its own fiscal cliff, EU nations are facing up to the realities of big government and bad policies. Carolyn Moynihan, deputy editor of MercatorNet, wrote recently about how Italians are turning to home for support in an increasingly inhospitable public culture.  In fact, two Italian market research organizations — Coldiretti and Censis — report that one-third of adult Italians (more than 60% of young adults — up from only 48% in 1990) live back home with their parents.  This sad development is especially affecting the 18- to 29-year-olds who haven’t been able to find work or can’t afford their own place on the low salaries of available jobs.

The Italians refer to the generation that had moved in with mom and dad as “big babies” or “mama’s boys” because they are not leaving the nest. The young adults, though, explain that they wish they could have their own places and be independent, but the unemployment rate for 20-somethings in Italy hovers at over 30 percent, and many of those with jobs are settling for part-time or low-pay jobs they wouldn’t have even considered in better economic times. Even well-trained, well-educated young adults are struggling to find good-paying jobs. One survey reported that fully a quarter of 30 to 40-year-olds in Italy still live with their parents. Sadly, such are the realities during a financial crisis where unemployment is rising and prices for basic commodities like food and fuel are too high.

Of course, Italy is not alone in facing the consequences of the fiscal crisis and bureaucratic expansion. A harsh reality is that “re-distributing the wealth” doesn’t stretch money very far.

The silver lining to the fiscal crisis is that hard financial times strengthen the family as a place of solace and succor to provide balance to the difficult times and financial crises. As the public aspects of people’s lives become unbearable, they retreat to their private and personal space — home and family — where they find relief from the stress.  In fact, the Coldiretti and Censis report was titled: “The economic crisis – living together, living better,” a title that recognizes the benefits of a family haven when there is no place else to turn, a place of solidarity and support, and a place of refuge where family members can repair and renew their spirits before they return to the demanding challenges they face in their professional and/or public lives.

Researchers are learning that the concepts of “home and family” have grown musty from misuse and lack of appreciation in the fast-track marketplace.  In New Zealand, the University of Waikato is sponsoring an upcoming conference to explore the “public-private nexus” of “home and identity.”  They are working with foundations to explore ways to bring academics and public policy experts into the discussion about the importance of home.

Other researchers are acknowledging the lack of understanding about the pivotal role of home.  Others decry the attention to “home” without a corresponding acknowledgement of the role of “family” in strengthening nations.  Still others want researchers and policymakers to appreciate the role and contribution of men to home and family.

As I’ve written in my latest book, Marriage Matters, the married mom-and-dad family — in addition to being important for the well-being of men and women and, especially, children — is the foundation of societies and nations.  Marriage has been recognized as a special institution across cultures and throughout history.  Perhaps these desperate economic times will remind us of the importance of marriage and family.

Visiting New York’s National September 11 Memorial a few weeks ago, I was enormously touched by one small but radically bold design choice by the memorial committee.  Inscribed next to the name of each of the eleven pregnant mothers who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center was the phrase, “and her unborn child.”

Since the memorial’s mission is to “reaffirm respect for life,” this decision is entirely appropriate.  Making such a beautiful statement is not only refreshing in a society that so frequently dismisses the humanity of the unborn, but communicates an indispensable message to a watching world — every life is precious.  Indeed, remembering every single victim killed in the attacks — including the unborn — is the ultimate form of defiance against the pointless violence of our enemies. While the terrorists who attacked New York, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 were anxious to kill men, women, and children, the 9/11 memorial testifies that Americans as a whole are just as zealous to commemorate every human life lost.

Counting these precious unborn children among those who died on 9/11 elucidates in crystal-clear terms that America is principled in the belief that every person is valuable, no matter their size or age.

As a pro-life advocate, you would presume my head was swirling with a variety of thoughts including, “Is the commemorating family pro-life or pro-abortion?” or, “Does Mayor Michael Bloomberg realize his commitment to ‘reaffirm life’ is contradictory to his pro-abortion stance?” or, “What about the children who were born not knowing their parents lost in the attacks?” But no.

As I stood alongside the footprint of the South Twin Tower, staring down at the names of the victims and the recognition of their unborn children, I had only one overwhelming sentiment. I thanked God that I live in a country whose Biblically-based value of life and liberty permeates the core of every one of us.

Hillary Clinton created a firestorm back in 1992 when she remarked in an interview that she guessed she could have just stayed home and baked cookies.  Fast forward to 2012 and Hilary Rosen — who has visited the White House more than 35 times — attacks Ann Romney, mother of five boys, for “never work[ing] a day in her life.”  Just when we thought the left couldn’t get more insensitive and condescending toward conservative women and derisive of the concept of motherhood, the Democrats’ narrative about a supposed GOP “war on women” gets exposed to reveal the long-standing, patronizing, and extremely abusive feminist “war on conservative women.”

All it takes is a quick look at all the magazine features about “women of the year” or “outstanding women” to discover that the media elites and leftist women in politics and punditry have zero knowledge of the accomplishments of conservative women; nor do they understand or appreciate the contributions to society and the future of the nation by those women who “choose” to nurture and raise their own children.

Rosen’s put-down of Ann Romney also reveals an appalling lack of understanding about the work involved in raising your own children.  I am a career woman who chose to stay home with my children when they were young; those years flew by and were just a blip that hardly registered on my career path.  But, for me and for my children, those were incredibly productive and important years; both they and I are still reaping the benefits of that investment of my time, talents and energies.  It is very short-sighted of Hilary Rosen and others of her ilk to poke fun at those of us who put our husbands and children at the top of our priorities.  Anyone who looks at the fractured families that are so prevalent today will recognize that the nation and individual families are paying an exorbitant price for making family and children’s well-being an afterthought in women’s lives.

I also have to add that, for me, those stay-at-home years were the hardest work I have ever done.  Mothering would be much easier if, during the day, someone else cleans up all the messes, fixes all the meals, does all the laundry, picks up all the toys, handles the squabbles, and is on call for nine hours straight!

But, I feel sorry for working moms; they miss out on the joy of each new discovery their children make.  I didn’t want someone else to have those daily moments of pleasure.  I didn’t want someone else’s values and attitudes shaping my children’s outlook and attitudes toward life.  I didn’t want someone else training and nurturing my children and determining their future prospects and influencing their day-to-day development.

Yes, I understand that, for some women, staying home is not an option, but many are merely sacrificing their time with their children for a nicer house or car, a luxury that would otherwise be out of reach, or a splashy vacation or other perk of modern life that seems necessary at the time.

I am fully aware of — and experienced and survived — the significant financial and career sacrifices families make to live on only one income during their children’s formative years.  I am even more aware of the hefty sacrifices that many of those families make when it comes to their children’s well-being and the mom’s emotional fulfillment.  That latter consideration is certainly part of the reason for the underlying venom in leftist women’s disdain for stay-at-home mothers.

Pick up any women’s magazine today, and you’ll find stories of exhausted women who have no interest or time for themselves, their families, for sex or for homemaking — gorgeous kitchens with the latest in refrigerators and stoves are unused as family members pick up fast food on their way to somewhere besides home.  Read any newspaper, and you’ll see accounts of wealthy kids who are in trouble and kids from tony neighborhoods who are runaways or throwaway teens.  When my children were pre-teens, the dean of my husband’s university college laughingly told us, while making conversation during a cocktail party, that his son had dropped out of high school to “find himself.”  Here was a man with a Ph.D. and a long list of academic accomplishments whose son dropped out of high school.

What was it both Barbara Bush and Jacqueline Kennedy said?  If you fail at being a mother to your children, nothing else matters.