Happy belated Mother’s Day to all our mom readers. We hope you were cherished and loved by your families this weekend.

Sadly, some sour grapes out there (read: leftists) actively attack the fact that there is a Mother’s Day at all. They happily take the opportunity to remind us that not all mothers are wonderful and worth celebrating. Moreover, in the past few years, it has gotten even weirder. Anti-Mother’s Day advocates have decided, in the name of “inclusion,” to start declaring their absurd theory that not all mothers are women while simultaneously stating the obvious that not all women are mothers. It is an evil attempt to diminish and attack motherhood.

It’s true — not all mothers are wonderful. Some are neglectful, selfish, or abusive toward their children. (Here’s looking at you, mothers pushing gender “transition” on your kids.) But do these bad-acting mothers mean that motherhood as a whole is to be dismissed? That, of course, is absurd. By that logic, anyone could happily dismiss anything they don’t like. For example, one could say that some apples are rotten and, therefore, all apples should be cast away. This is a childish and irrational line of reasoning. It also misses the whole meaning of motherhood, which is more than just giving birth to someone.

Another ridiculous line of thinking is the notion that not all mothers are women (i.e., some mothers are men). This laughable, politically correct, harmful notion is demeaning to everyone involved. It takes away men’s natural gifts — protector, provider, and guide — that come with fatherhood. It takes away a unique dominion of women. A woman not only carries a baby inside her own body for nine months, but it is her post-birth gift and job to nourish that same infant from her own body. Most importantly, it takes away from the sweet little babies and children involved. Human babies need their mothers profoundly.

A newborn only knows the woman who carried him. He knows her smell and heartbeat. He doesn’t distinguish himself as a separate person for several months. That’s why many young babies want to be held by their mothers 24/7. It’s also why this newborn being placed on a gender-confused man’s chest is in agony. The baby only wants her mother, and it’s heartbreaking. This in and of itself is why surrogacy is so problematic.

This quivering baby who wants her mother is about the most heartbreaking video I’ve ever seen. When a newborn cannot have what it naturally wants most because of death or medical emergency, it’s tragic. Here, it’s just evil. https://t.co/HeVTiKsSqy

— Megan Basham (@megbasham) May 9, 2024

That man wearing womanface is sitting on a hospital bed as if he just went through the physical trauma of carrying and birthing a baby. That’s little different from stolen valor.

As for the physical nurturing of an infant through breastfeeding, thanks to amoral scientists, some “transgender women” (i.e., men) are so jacked up on cross-sex hormones that they can lactate and have been permitted to feed an infant from their secretions. Who knows what sort of harmful chemicals and hormones are in his “milk” that he is carelessly feeding to a vulnerable infant? These gender-confused men’s perversion takes precedence over the needs of the actual child. It is the very opposite of what motherhood is.

For women who are longing to be mothers and struggling with infertility, thank you for your heart that desires to give all your love and nurturing to a child. Your road is difficult and painful, especially on days like Mother’s Day when you are reminded about what you can’t have or don’t have yet. I’ve been there. You are not alone.

Motherhood is more than giving birth to children. It’s an altruistic show of love and care for children in your life.

Another element of infertility needs to be pointed out. Some women have fallen for the lie that “wife” and “mother” are not titles worthy of them. According to this feminist philosophy, men are dogs (or bears), and children are an encumbrance. Tragically, some women realize too late in life how tragically false this thinking is. Money and a career can’t love you back.

Childless women can and are allowed to feel sad on Mother’s Day, but should their sadness mean that we shouldn’t celebrate motherhood? The obvious answer is “No.” Any childless woman who would advocate for the erasure of Mother’s Day because it reminds her of something she can’t have misses the essential part: Motherhood is about celebrating selfless love. To put it bluntly, it’s not about you!

Motherhood is about loving and caring for children openhandedly. As Ethics and Public Policy Center fellow Carrie Gress writes: “Bad mothers, absent mothers, women who long to be mothers, a rise in loneliness, depression, and anxiety all bring into stark relief the unconquerable truth that women’s lives are generally made richer and fuller with husbands and children. Whether we have a family or not, our lives are richer when outward-focused and not centered on self.”

As Gress states as a constant refrain in her article, it is the very attempted erasure of motherhood that points to its necessity as an institution, title, and crown of womanhood.

Mother’s Day doesn’t need to be more inclusive. It is the precision and exclusivity that honors a profound relationship unique to the human experience. Mothers and what they represent should be honored with one day in the calendar year to reflect on the amazing gift of self-denying love.