Should the father have the choice on abortion?

[Autumnleaf]

Men tend to think more logically than women, so shouldn't they have the choice instead of the mother?

 

[psychedelicist]

can you back that up?

anyway, i believe that the woman should have the final choice. it would be great if the woman took the mans opinion into account but ultimately it's her body.

 

[Autumnleaf]

can you back that up?

anyway, i believe that the woman should have the final choice. it would be great if the woman took the mans opinion into account but ultimately it's her body.

An abortion has to do with killing someone whose body is not like the mother's body. Its genetically unique.

 

[KET20]

I'd need proof to believe that "men tend to think more logically than women", but either way, having an abortion is my (the woman's) choice because the fetus is inside my body. I could take the father's opinion into consideration, or not. Ultimately, it's my choice. No one else gets to make my reproductive decisions for me. Period.

 

[karisma]

Men tend to think more logically than women, so shouldn't they have the choice instead of the mother?

I think you need to back that up.

 

[karisma]

I'd need proof to believe that "men tend to think more logically than women", but either way, having an abortion is my (the woman's) choice because the fetus is inside my body. I could take the father's opinion into consideration, or not. Ultimately, it's my choice. No one else gets to make my reproductive decisions for me. Period.

Agreed! It can suck for the dad, but ultimately it has to be her choice, as she carries the baby for the next 9 months.

 

[KET20]

Agreed! It can suck for the dad, but ultimately it has to be her choice, as she carries the baby for the next 9 months.

Exactly!

 

[TooCurious]

Men tend to think more logically than women,

Eight words in, and you're already wrong. I can only imagine that if you had any evidenciary support for this fanciful claim, you'd've posted it. That would've been the logical thing to do, after all.

so shouldn't they have the choice instead of the mother?

Not unless they've started making men with uteruses while I wasn't looking, because the only person who should be making that decision is the one whose uterus is involved.

Now, if the question had been, "Should the man have a voice in the decision to abort?" I would say that, in an ideal situation, he should be part of the discussion. (The ideal situation assumes that he and the woman involved have a mutually-respectful relationship of equals, without abuse or intimidation.) Still, the final decision must rest with the woman, as she is the one whose body is tenanted, and she is the one who faces the prospect of pregnancy and childbirth.

 

[KET20]

Not unless they've started making men with uteruses while I wasn't looking, because the only person who should be making that decision is the one whose uterus is involved.

Yup, and last I checked they most certainly are not making men with uteruses. If I had reps to give, you'd get them!

 

[Aeris]

I do think that the mother and father should talk about it first and if the father honestly wants the baby then I think that the mother should consider keeping the baby, but I think that the final decision should be made by the mother (even if it is against the fathers wishes) since she is the one who will carry the baby and have to give birth to it. On a sidenote, why doesnt anyone question the mothers decision when the mother wants to keep the baby and the father wants her to abort, but when its the other way around everyone wants the fathers opinion to matter?

 

[clarksided]

Men tend to think more logically than women

You actually brought up a decent question (for once), but what was the point of this nonsense?

Anyway, I think the man should have a say in this matter, but it's treading dangerous water, because what if a man doesn't want to pay child support and wants to have the mother perform an abortion?

It's just dangerous to give the father rights over the fetus/baby/blob of cells (pick according to your belief!) because it would create too many legal questions, I think.

 

[jayem]

I think it's far more common that women may face pressure by boyfriends or husbands to abort.

 

[jayem]

but either way, having an abortion is my (the woman's) choice because the fetus is inside my body. I could take the father's opinion into consideration, or not. Ultimately, it's my choice. No one else gets to make my reproductive decisions for me. Period.

That's pretty much what the Supreme Court decided in the Casey decision, which struck down the Pennsylvania law requiring a husband to be notified before his wife has an abortion:

"it cannot be claimed that the father's interest in the fetus' welfare is equal to the mother's protected liberty, since it is an inescapable biological fact that state regulation with respect to the fetus will have a far greater impact on the pregnant woman's bodily integrity than it will on the husband. Section 3209 embodies a view of marriage consonant with the common law status of married women, but repugnant to this Court's present understanding of marriage and of the nature of the rights secured by the Constitution..."

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=505&invol=833

 

[FaithLikeARock]

So you're sexist now, eh Autumnleaf?

I think that he should have some say. It's only fair seeing as it is his child too and I find it selfish for a women to go "WELL IT'S MY BODY" and completely disregard his opinion. Same goes for the other way around if the woman wants the child.

That said, I wouldn't feel sorry for any woman who lost her boyfriend or husband because she decided to get/not get an abortion as contrary to her S.O's wishes.

 

[Bombila]

If the couple are in such deep disagreement over raising a child, it's unlikely their relationship would survive regardless of outcome.

In a committed relationship, it's rare that a father will want a child and the mother not. More often, it is the other way around, and a young father will urge an abortion on the mother, especially if it is not a committed relationship.

There have been a few court cases in my country around this issue, and in at least two that I remember, it has been obvious that the complaining father had very poor motives, felt vengeful towards the woman who had broken up with him, and did not intend to raise the child himself, except for typical access rights. In one instance I believe the case dragged out until it was no longer plausible for the woman to have an abortion.

One can never get away from the fact that it is the woman's body that is at stake here. The father's physical stake is extremely small. A woman who bears a child against the father's wishes is also within her rights because of the physical aspect. She may believe that the timing is right for her to have a child, because of career goals, or her age, or her health, or other reasons. A man can father a child well into old age, and that is not the case for women, who have a shorter window of fertility.

 

[Ave Maria]

It'd be great if the woman took the father's opinion into account but ultimately it is the mother's choice. After all, she's the one who has to carry the fetus around inside of her for 9 months.

 

[mont974x4]

I think they should have equal say, since they had an equal part in creating the new life in the first place.


Equal rights and responsibilities, ya know?

 

[Bombila]

I think they should have equal say, since they had an equal part in creating the new life in the first place.


Equal rights and responsibilities, ya know?

There's that 'responsibility' thing, y'know. Care to grow a child inside you for nine months, permanently altering your body, subjecting you to numerous health risks from diabetes to bleeding to death, affecting your job, your schooling, your career path, your financial status, etc?

Oh, wait: you won't have to experience any of that - already done 'your half' in less than five minutes.

 

[mont974x4]

As the father of 4 sons I can attest to the fact that my part lasts longer than 5 minutes and it most certainly does impact my job, my schooling, my health, my finances etc.


And don't for a minute think that there's not health risks to the woman who decides to murder the child within her. It's not the "safe" alternative.

 

[JohnLocke]

Well,

Ideally, yes I think that both biological parents should have some say in whether or not to become parents. Call it a primitive matter of fairness, "Why should only female persons have the right to choose not to be parents, and male persons not?"

It is also true that at least in the near term (conception through birth) the costs and risks associated with pregnancy, abortion, birth, etc. fall rather disproportionately on the female person. I do not think that any person should be able to impose those costs on another person against their will.

But all of that's pretty abstract. I cannot conscience a person compelling another to bring a pregnancy to term against that person's will any more than I could conscience forcing a person to have an abortion against their will. Thus, ultimately, the decision whether or not bring a pregnancy to term or abort will reside with the pregnant person. One might like to throw a bone to the male parent by allowing that to legally abandon that child they would not have chosen to have, but that's really bad public policy.

Ultimately, it is fair for legally enforced responsibility to be one of the risks of sexual activity for male persons. Not because the disparate rights between the sexes is inherently fair, but because in the context of all of the other things provided to the male party by the state, this risk which can be avoided and minimized unilaterally by the male party is a fair price for things like national security, the FDA, etc. etc.

Peace