by Deborah Allan

Created on: September 24, 2009

Absolutely. The father of an unborn child has just as much right to that child as the mother. I will agree that the father does not have to bear this child, and his body does not go through the changes a mother's body goes through. I will agree that the father really does get the better end of the deal throughout the pregnancy; however, did the mother magically make this baby on her own? The answer is no, and when it comes to abortion, the father that made the baby should have some say in whether or not an abortion takes place.

I am against abortion 100%. I believe it is wrong, and I believe that a baby is a gift from God, and however that child was made, be it one night of passion with a stranger, or rape, that child has a purpose. To me, the only options are to give the child up for adoption, or raise him\her yourself.

With that being said, I now want to tell you a little story. A friend of mine got pregnant at 16. She and the child's father were together, had been together for a few years, and had planned on getting married when she finished high school. He was a few years older than her; he had a job, and was in the middle of getting his own house. She did not want to have a baby. The thought of it disgusted her, as well as terrified her, but mostly because she just did not want the responsibility. So, she decided to have an abortion. The father, on the other hand, begged and pleaded with her not to do it. He wanted this child, and he said that he would raise it all by himself if he had to. For two weeks straight, all he did was plead with her to keep the baby. So, she did. She promised she would keep it. The next day, though, while the father was at work, she had an abortion.

Do you know what that did to the father? It broke his heart. He already loved the child he never met, and now, would never get the chance to meet. He mourned the loss of that child, as if he knew it. It was sad, and hard to watch. But, he did finally recover.

A few years later, after they were married, this couple got pregnant again. They were overjoyed. But when the baby was born, and because they were so happy, the father had feelings of resentment. All he could think of was how happy they are now, and how happy they could have been with their first child.

The point of my story is that the abortion that took this father's first child ended this relationship, because with every first he experienced with his second child, he started to resent the fact that he missed it with the first. They ended up divorcing, and he has never gotten over that.

Nobody thinks about what happens to the father. He has feelings too, and it is his child. Ok, so nobody wants to get fat, and have stretch marks to remember the child they gave away, but would it be so bad to give a gift of a child to someone who can't have one, and who wants one so badly?

I know it's a touchy subject, but in my opinion, the father has every right. Think of it this way, if there were a baby, the mother would want the father to step up and support the child. So, maybe if the tables are turned, he should have a say in whether the child gets to be born.

Learn more about this author, Deborah Allan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.