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Mark Houck is convinced that there is a causal link between a culture saturated with pornography and the astronomical abortion rate. BY Peter Baklinski PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of men campaigning against what they call the “pandemic” of pornography say that their fight is “directly linked” to the fight against abortion. “We see the fight against pornography as part of the battle against abortion,” Mark Houck, co-founder of The King’s Men, told LifeSiteNews. The King’s Men, founded in 2006, trains men of all ages through retreats, formation programs, and accountability groups to engage in “noble battles” by becoming “leaders, protectors, and providers”. They are trained to fight in what Houck calls the “key battlefields” of “abortion, pornography, and the defense of traditional marriage.” Houck is convinced that there is a causal link between a culture saturated with pornography and the more than 54 million abortions in the USA since Roe v. Wade made the procedure legal in 1973. “The majority of abortions are committed on women in relationships outside of the context of marriage,” he said, pointing out that the porn industry has fueled such behavior by separating the pleasure of sexual activity from the “free-faithful-fruitful-total context of spousal love”. “These women who become pregnant and then abort are typically over-sexualized by a variety of things, whether it’s through messages in movies, television, or the culture of porn that surrounds them.” Houck said that one has only to follow the “story of the sexual revolution” to discover the link between high abortion rates and a culture dominated by pornography. “With the dawn of the acceptance of Margaret Sanger’s contraceptive pill (1960s), followed by explicit magazines like Playboy (1953) and Hustler (1974), you have the ingredients for women becoming hyper-sexualized. These things came into mainstream culture around the same time. These things have now escalated with the internet age to the point where pornographic material has become affordable, readily available, and accessible with complete anonymity.” For Houck, the equation is simple: An increase in porn leads to an increase in sexual activity outside of marriage, which leads to an increase in ‘unwanted’ pregnancies, which leads to an increase in abortion. “The studies show that young people exposed to pornography, whether in R-rated or PG-13 movies, in magazines, the internet, or whatever, are going to become more sexually active,” said Houck. “Guys will move towards anonymous sex, one night stands, prostitutes, lap dances, etc., because they want to act out the fantasies that they have encountered in the world of porn.” Houck along with co-founder Damian Wargo developed the ‘No More Porn’ tour eight years ago as a way to reach out men and women ensnared in what they call a “dark and dirty business”. The group has run more than 200 protests against sex businesses, strip clubs, and ‘adult’ video outlets. They have been instrumental in shutting down seven porn businesses. Houck said that the protests are an “outward manifestation” of the convictions of men who take seriously the words of the Gospel that “every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). “The protests are an answer to the call of Christ to go deeper, to examine ourselves and continually work on the disposition of our heart towards our brothers and especially our sisters in Christ.” “Fundamentally, we need to expose the lie of pornography for what it is. It’s counterfeit love.” “Anything these men experience at sexually oriented businesses is going to be empty. You may in the moment feel something, but in the end, it’s empty. It’s not life giving. Nothing about pornography breathes life.” Houck knows first hand where porn consumers are coming from. He spent 16 years of his life as a porn addict and was only able to break away from it by turning to God for healing. “The only way to get out of porn is if you really want to be healed. Jesus often says in Scripture to those who were wounded, injured, and handicapped: ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ You have to say: ‘I want to be well’. He will take that and use it.” Houck understands the element of lust that he says is present in each man’s heart. “We are all prone to sin and we must be humble as we approach our brothers in the matters of lust since it is a common struggle for all men. We are really all in the same boat. Christ’s words about ‘looking’ level the playing field between those of us crusading against porn and those who are passive and blind to the fact that that’s somebody’s daughter being used for profit, somebody’s mother being manipulated, somebody’s sister being abused. Jesus cuts to the core of the entire matter with ‘what’s in your heart?’” “In one sense, it’s easy to let go of the porn. It’s easy to stop visiting sexually oriented businesses. The hard part is to transform what’s in your heart.” http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/abortion-is-directly-linked-to-porn-anti-porn-crusader/

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