by Sarah Bennage

Created on: April 04, 2009   Last Updated: April 05, 2009

In an age in which men are expected to take a much larger role when it comes to family matters, it seems that this attitude has been flipped on one issue: Abortion. Instead of being the primary "bread winner" (as men have been throughout most of historical record), a man is now expected to have a "sensitive side" with which he nurtures his wife and children through compassion and understanding that would not have been expected in past generations. He is expected to share the load of household chores and child-rearing duties. He is also expected to share the working world with women, a reality present largely within the past century.

When it comes to "reproductive rights", it seems that the modern man is largely left out of the discussion. Maybe part of this exclusion comes from the idea that the woman is the one to take care of the birth control in a relationship and reflects a certain willful non-involvement on the man's part. Perhaps, however, men would appreciate a more vocal role when it comes to these matters, but feel they have been pushed out of the discussion by women, or that they don't have the right to speak up on such matters because they are men and not women-who carry the children for nine months and are usually considered the primary care giver.

"With great power comes great responsibility," or so would say Uncle Ben to Peter Parker. It seems, however, that when it comes to modern expectations of the male gender, this phrase could be changed to "With great responsibility comes even greater responsibility." If this is the case, no wonder there are so many men who fail to grow up...thirty somethings still residing with their parents, possibly working part-time but making no effort to become functional members of society and in fact, date-able. Who would want to, if all that was staring you in the face was a lifetime of "being there" when your family needed you to, but shutting up when your opinion wasn't wanted? A man can stay at home and be treated like a child by his parents, instead being treated like a child by his own wife.

A woman's body may be her own, but she did share it with the man who made her pregnant (except of course in the case of rape, which is the one case that a man's feelings should not be considered). With that sharing of her body should come some consideration for the feelings of the father about keeping a child that a woman does not want. If we, as a society, want men to be more proactive in the home and more considerate of the feelings of others, shouldn't we let them help make decisions that affect the home, and shouldn't we be considerate of their feelings too?

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