A Father’s Rights

This morning on the radio, a man called in hoping to spark a debate about abortion. Not about whether abortion is right or not, but about whether or not the father has a say in the termination of his potential child. This man’s girlfriend broke up with him when she found out she was pregnant with his child, and despite his desire to keep the baby, she had it aborted. He was devasted and he felt wronged by the justice system because he was not able to fight for the life of his child.

If a law were made declaring that both parents had to be in agreement before an abortion took place, many problems occur. For example, what if the woman wants to keep the child but the man wants to abort? Even if the situation were vice versa, how would the court resolve it? Would disagreement automatically result in a ruling that the couple must keep the baby? In that case, one of the parents might very well resent the child and that is an unfortunate life for that child. And what if the woman were raped? Does he get a say? The court could say that such criminal activity removes any right to opinion in the matter, but rapists are not always convicted.

The woman is the one who has to endure nine months of pregnancy and the horrible pain of giving birth. It is her body, so I can understand why it should be her right to choose. But is it solely her right? The man has to pay child support if the couple is not together and both parents are equally responsible for the well-being of the child after it is born. I’m not sure how I feel about this issue, but I’d like to know the opinions of my classmates.