Politics, News & Issues >
Family Law
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedAbortions: Should the father have some say?
Results so far:
| No | 25% | 79 votes | Total: 322 votes | |
| Yes | 75% | 243 votes |
No
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesTerminating a pregnancy is not a decision to be made quickly or lightheartedly, it is a decision to be made after careful consideration of many different circumstances. It is however, a decision only a woman can and should make. A woman's body is her own; a man's opinion should not influence the woman on whether or not she chooses to abort her pregnancy. This is not saying a man's opinion should not be heard, nor is it saying that it doesn't matter; just simply that it is not his body, for then not his decision.
Unquestiona bly, it is the woman who carries the child in her womb for nine months, while her body is stretching, swelling, aching, and not to mention being kicked and punched from the inside, and then there's labor. It is also generally, the woman who stays at home for a year burping, feeding, changing, rocking, and bathing their child. Through all of this, the father is at work, which is great, but the question is; what did he have to give up for this child?
Does it take two to tango? Absolutely, this is a fact which can't be denied; neither can the bonds in which a mother and child form during a pregnancy. However, with this being said, what bonds are being formed between a father and his child in the womb? What is stopping him from leaving in the middle of the night and never returning? Leaving a woman and her unborn child on their own, a child perhaps she did not want in the first place.
Now, if the tables are turned, and it is the father who wants an abortion, then the only control on the situation he has, except trying to change her mind, is using physical force to terminate the pregnancy himself, which sadly is not unheard of, but will result in an assault charge or even worse.
Realistically, what difference does it make to a man whether to have an abortion or not? In most cases he is not the one giving up 20% to 40% of his salary, he's not the one unable to drink, smoke, or touch his toes for nine months. His body doesn't require plastic surgery to put it back to "normal" after child birth, nor does he turn into a milk producing factory to provide nutrition to his child. This list does go on, however the point is; it is the woman who has to make these compromises and sacrifices. It is a woman's right to choose whether these things happen to her body or not.
The end result in this matter is quite simple; men legally cannot stop a woman from having an abortion, just as he cannot legally stop her from continuing with her pregnancy either.
Learn more about this author, Anita Peders.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Yes
A new human life has come into existence. Although the foetus resides at present in its mother's uterus, it is the result of the union of a female egg cell and a spermatozoa from the male parent. It has received its DNA equally from both its mother and father. The law of the land recognizes the responsibility of each parent to provide nurture and support for the child once it is born. It is only logical and just that both parents participate in making significant decisions regarding the welfare of the pre born child, especially one as crucial as whether or not to deny it the most basic of all rights: the right to life.
If the Creator had intended the mother to be the sole custodian and decision-maker in safeguarding the welfare of the new human, He could have enabled her to become pregnant without the aid of the male. Perhaps, in His wisdom, it was just these difficult situations which He foresaw.
The newly-pregnant mother may be traumatized. Carrying the baby to term may have a seriously negative impact on her life. She may be young, unmarried, afraid to tell her parents, and unable to think clearly enough to seek help from any of the agencies available.
Alternativ ely, she may already be a parent to more children than she can comfortably handle. Her husband may be absent, or uncooperative when it comes to household and parental duties. She may anticipate that he will react with anger when he finds another baby is on the way. These and other circumstances may conspire to make her feel that abortion is the best solution to her dilemma. However, she is not entitled to make this decision on her own.
Undeniably, there are three individuals involved in this scenario: the mother, who may be too upset to think rationally, the baby, who is too young to plead for its life, and the father. His voice must be heard. This child is, after all, his own flesh and blood. He is equally responsible, with the mother, for bringing this baby into existence. He deserves a say in determining its fate.
Ideally, the mother should not be the only one called upon to dedicate the next nine months of her life to seeing that the child she is carrying is born healthy and strong. The father should be expected to support the mother both financially and emotionally throughout her pregnancy, until the child is born. Then, if necessary, it could be given up for adoption. Many caring people would be overjoyed to welcome the new little life into their hearts, their homes, and their families.
Two parents are necessary for a new life to be conceived. Two parents must assume financial responsibility for the support of the child once it is born. Two parents are the norm in that basic structure of human society: the family. It is unfair, illogical, and unnatural for one parent alone to make a major decision regarding the child without consulting the other parent, especially when the matter being decided is of such pivotal importance: whether to allow their child to live, or to kill it.
Of course the father should have a say when there is a question of abortion. It may be the only chance he'll ever have to step up and save a life, the life of the child he helped create. Never again will his words carry greater import: a life will literally hang in the balance. If he unselfishly and courageously chooses life for his child, he will have earned for himself the noblest of titles: "Father".
Learn more about this author, Carolyn Tytler.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Family Law
- Should abortion for underage children require parental consent?
- Should US citizens accused of domestic abuse lose the right to bear arms?
- Are age-based curfew laws effective in reducing teenage crime rates?
- Should "deadbeat dads" face jail time?
- There should be restrictions on the availability of abortion, except when the mother's life is at stake
- Should teens face criminal child porn charges for "sexting"?
