My Body, My Bucks
Boy meets girl. Boy and girl eagerly rock 'n roll all night long. Girl becomes pregnant.
What happens next is entirely up to the girl. And that's wrong.
When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her partner becomes a virtual non-person. If the woman decides to abort the child or put it up for adoption, the man has no say, even though it is as much his child as hers.
If the woman decides to keep the child, the man is bound by law to support it, even though, given choice, he may well have preferred to abort.
Should a man be forced to support a child he doesn't want, any more than a woman should be forced to bear a child she doesn't want?
The question is about to be put before a Michigan court in a suit brought by the National Center for Men on behalf of 25-year-old Matt Dubay, who has been ordered to pay $500 a month for his ex-girlfriend's daughter:
There's such a spectrum of choice that women have — it's her body, her pregnancy and she has the ultimate right to make decisions," said Mel Feit, director of the men's center. "I'm trying to find a way for a man also to have some say over decisions that affect his life profoundly."
Is that so unreasonable?
Comments
When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her partner becomes a virtual non-person. If the woman decides to abort the child or put it up for adoption, the man has no say, even though it is as much his child as hers.
Sorry Abi...not with you on this one.
Though the child is as much his as hers (assuming it goes to term), there is one factor that will never be "his", the risk. The man will not carry the child; The man will not undergo the physical changes that carrying the child will bring; The man will not risk childbirth (which can be a considerable risk if the woman is indigent); The man will probably not risk being cut off from his family; And finally, if the woman does decide to abort, the man will not undergo that risk, one that becomes more risky with each passing year...at least in this country.
For all of the reasons, once the child is conceived, I still believe that the choice lies with the woman. Do I believe that the man deserves to have his opinion heard? Certainly, but more than that? I don't think so.
Posted by: Kvatch | March 9, 2006 10:37 PM
Sex sure does cause problems, doesn't it? Life being the major of them.
Posted by: Neil Shakespeare | March 10, 2006 05:43 AM
I didn't expect to get a lot of agreement on this one. But you have to call 'em like you see 'em.
;-)
Posted by: abi | March 10, 2006 08:54 PM
Though the child is as much his as hers (assuming it goes to term), there is one factor that will never be "his", the risk.
A risk SHE chooses. If she doesn't want to take that risk she can get an abortion. Woman have all the choices men have only the responsibility.
Posted by: Bill C | March 13, 2006 12:01 PM