When Men Step Up: Fr. Isaiah Beiter's Call to Action at the 'Save Moms, Save Babies' Pro-Life Symposium

At Good Counsel's first-ever Pro-Life Symposium, themed "Save Moms, Save Babies," Dominican priest Fr. Isaiah Beiter delivered a powerful message that cut through political noise and cultural confusion to reach the heart of the issue: if we want to save lives, we must first restore faithful fatherhood.

Drawing from his pastoral experience and encounters with young people, Fr. Isaiah shared raw, honest conversations that revealed the deeper fears and wounds many women carry—not about motherhood itself, but about abandonment.

"One young woman asked me, 'Father, should I expect the man I marry to love me?'" he recalled. "And she meant it."

Another confided that she would like to have children someday, but didn’t know if she could trust anyone to help her raise them. These aren't rhetorical hypotheticals. These are the real, aching questions young women are asking on college campuses across the country.

Fr. Isaiah made it clear: the pro-life movement cannot thrive on opposition alone. It must offer a clear, beautiful alternative.

"We’re not just anti-abortion. We’re pro-life. And being pro-life means having a vision for life—for what it should look like when things go right. That vision involves men and women together, co-heirs of the gift of life."

He recounted a story from his aunt, who used to run a pregnancy center. He asked her why women came to the center. Her answer was simple and devastating: "They're afraid. And usually they're alone. Because the men in their lives haven’t stepped up."

These women aren't primarily struggling with whether or not life has value. They're struggling with whether or not they can survive it alone.

Fr. Isaiah challenged the room—especially the men—to reflect deeply on how they live out their roles as spiritual, emotional, and physical providers. "The Church's vision is not that women abandoned by men become the only heroes. It is that men and women receive life together, with courage, sacrifice, and mutual love."

He called for a renewed vision of masculinity rooted not in dominance or detachment, but in responsibility, patience, and faithful presence: "It’s necessary for life to be received in the way God intends, that men are patient and receive this gift with patient love."

Good Counsel Homes has seen firsthand what happens when that vision is missing—and what can blossom when it is restored. Since 1985, Good Counsel has provided shelter, support, and stability to pregnant women in crisis, walking with them through birth and beyond.

Fr. Isaiah's words serve as both a mirror and a roadmap. They reflect the fractured reality many women face, and point the way toward healing: not through more lectures or louder slogans, but through faith-filled men stepping up and living lives of integrity.

To hear more from Fr. Isaiah Beiter and other speakers at Good Counsel’s "Save Moms, Save Babies" symposium, visit our YouTube channel and subscribe.

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To support our life-saving work with mothers and babies, visit www.goodcounselhomes.org.

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