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Debate: Should Spousal Consent be Required Before a Married Woman has an Abortion?

Ideally, it would be great if every marriage was healthy, functional, respectful and loving, but unfortunately that is not always the case. It is for that one and only reason that a woman should not be required to get spousal consent to have an abortion.

It has nothing to do with it being the woman's body and therefore her choice alone, because in a healthy loving and committed relationship, this debate would probably dwindle greatly. Why? Because, in marital relationships that are healthy and loving, the key ingredients are open communication, trust and respect. So, chances are the couple would be able to come together and work through the situation and arrive at a decision they came to as loving partners. The whole "woman's body, woman's choice" would never come into play.

However, the percentage of married women that choose to have an abortion without informing their spouse is usually due to dysfunction in the marriage. It could be that the husband is a control freak and has victimized her over and over for years by keeping her tied down to the home raising kids as a means to deplete her self-esteem, while creating a dependency situation. Should society really force a woman that is being victimized by a control freak to keep bringing unwanted babies into the world? There are many situations where the "man of the house" controls everything including use of birth control, and every daily action their wife takes part in. In these types of cases, you find a woman that is drained and depressed, and forced to take care of children she may not have wanted. Do we really want children raised in that type of situation?

What about the wife that is physically and emotionally abused? What about the wife that has a failed birth control encounter and fears coming home to tell an abusive husband she is pregnant? It goes back to the fact that until a woman or another person can walk in the shoes of someone else's circumstances, we as a society do not have the right to impose our person views on that person; nor do we have the right to push for legislation that may be more harmful than beneficial.

There are also cases in which bad choices are made such is the cases involving marital infidelity. It is an unfortunate occurrence, but again, being forced to have a baby should never be a punishment for having sex. It is also unfair for a woman to sneak around, get pregnant and then bring someone else's

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