Madeleine May Kunin, who was a three-term governor of Vermont, is the author of “Coming of Age: My Journey to the Eighties.”

It was a happy reprise when the women of Ohio voted to turn back the repeal of abortion rights when they voted on a referendum. Ohio was not alone. It was one of seven states that voted the same way. Every state that had a chance to vote on abortion voted to retain that right.

Several conservative states defied expectation, much to the chagrin of Republicans.

Pro-choice women were organized and powerful, but let’s face it, a majority of men must have been on their side.

Remember the term “shotgun wedding”? Those were the days when an outraged father — to preserve his honor — forced the marriage of his pregnant daughter. It was not always a happy event.

The fear of pregnancy limited most intimate relations in those days.

Not only did those women not want to have a baby before they were married, a fair proportion of men felt the same way. Sex was OK, but please, don’t get pregnant.

Yes, the onus still falls mainly on the woman who bears the baby, but men are not entirely excused. Some men don’t take off when they find out their girlfriend is pregnant. They do the so-called “right thing,” happily or not.

The only other alternative was a secret or sometimes dangerous botched abortion.

I believe many men support access to abortion for similar reasons that women do. If not, they should. Men want to decide whether and when they become fathers. They do not want to be forced into marriage.

What too often happens in that situation? The father leaves. Another single mother is added to the already-long list. The ideal is that children deserve both parents. In a less-than-perfect world, access to abortion would make that long list of fatherless children somewhat shorter. 

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