Poll: Abortion : Should men get a say?

[JaredXE]

or you could, y'know, not sleep with sluts.

also there are currently trials for male injection-based contraceptives, that combined with condoms and a decent spermicide would be about 99.99% effective even if you DO go sleeping around with women you don't like.

Sorry for the miscommunication, my definition of slut is someone who sleeps around even while in a relationship. Male or female.


And yeah, I would love to take a male birth-control pill or shot....when they actually make one and have it available for my use. I'd use it definately.

 

[soul_rune1984]

A man should have the right to say whether or not he wants to be a father.

 

[UnravThreads]

A man should have the right to say whether or not he wants to be a father.

Yeah, pretty much this (Yes, I did register just to post in this). There's a difference between being a father, and being a parent, IMHO. The woman should still have the right to have the child, but the man *needs* the right to deny his fatherhood to this child. He can't escape being its parent, but he can escape being a father. He shouldn't have to pay child support if he exercises his right within X months (let's say from conception to birth), as to be honest, accidents do happen. I've had the scare myself (twice, in fact, and it's pretty much scared me out of the act physically) and it's not pleasant. I'm 19 and I had the scare the beginning of this year, and about two years previous to it.

You cannot force a woman to have an abortion, just like you cannot force a woman to have intercourse (and of course, cannot force a man into it either). That's against her basic human rights.

 

[space_oddity]

A father should be able to legally remove himself from all obligations to the impregnated woman if he wishes her to terminate the pregnancy and she wont.
I, for one dont want to pay child support for 18 years to a woman i will probably hate for a kid i never wanted.

 

[soul_rune1984]

A man should have the right to say whether or not he wants to be a father.

Yeah, pretty much this (Yes, I did register just to post in this). There's a difference between being a father, and being a parent, IMHO. The woman should still have the right to have the child, but the man *needs* the right to deny his fatherhood to this child. He can't escape being its parent, but he can escape being a father. He shouldn't have to pay child support if he exercises his right within X months (let's say from conception to birth), as to be honest, accidents do happen. I've had the scare myself (twice, in fact, and it's pretty much scared me out of the act physically) and it's not pleasant. I'm 19 and I had the scare the beginning of this year, and about two years previous to it.

You cannot force a woman to have an abortion, just like you cannot force a woman to have intercourse (and of course, cannot force a man into it either). That's against her basic human rights.

Seriously. When I was born my dad wasn't ready to have kids. However, after he got married and they had my brother he made the effort to get to know me and we have a wonderful relationship. When I hear about women getting all worked up because the guy who knocked them up want's nothing to do with being a father, it bugs the heck out of me. Any man can be a father figure if he wants to be so. But persecuting a man who honestly does not isn't fair.

 

[crypt-creature]

Both of them have a say in it, but it really boils down to responsibility.
If the mother wants the child, then she should be responsible for it. Should the father pay? A bit, but nothing that is outrageous and going to make it unreasonable. A man needs to be able to live as well.
If the father wants the child, then the above would be used in his case as well. Although I don't think the mother should pay quite as much since she is going to give birth to the child, but she should still pay something.
Other than that, case-by-case basis.

My problem is with underage pregnancies. Lately I've been getting into the mindset of having an 'age restriction' on birthing a child. If you're not willing to abort the child then it is put up for adoption, and all ties from the mother and father would be severed until the child is 18. At which time, the child has the right to decide if it wants their biological mother and father in the picture or not.

 

[Manic__Moo]

I don't think the man's choice really comes into it. If a women really wants to keep a baby and he doesn't want it, he can't force her to get an abortion but she should be willing to care for it by herself. Equally if she wants to have an abortion and he wants her to keep it he can't force her to carry a baby she doesn't want for nine months.

Obviously if you're in a committed relationship you'd discuss it so the man has a say on a personal level normally if they don't agree the relationship breaks. Being a father is more than just having a genetic link to a child if the man doesn't want to be involved he can leave.

Maybe men should be able to refuse having their name on the birth certificate though.

As for this

I also got thinking, anybody ever heard of the crazy women, the kind who lie about taking contraception in order to trap a man with a child for 18 years? does this kind of pregnacy deserve to be looked at differantly or is it still the same situation? To me i would see that as some sort of crime, guys definaly should have some way out there.

I'm sure there is a tiny percentage women who do get pregnant deliberately for the wrong reasons. I don't think you can call it criminal and if you did I think you'd have a lot of false accusations from men who had been equally to blame.

No contraception is 100% reliable and accidents do happen that's just a risk of having sex. But when they do you should take responsibility for them at the time and go get the morning after pill the next day I know it can be awkward but a bit of co-operation then can stop problems in the future.

 

[xxcloud417xx]

The only way I could see a man having authority to decide on abortion is if the woman is unable to speak her wishes clearly and that there is a chance of death for her if she doesn't have an abortion. Then the only other person you can and should ask is the father. I know that if birth complications arise and I need to chose between the woman I've fallen in love with and a child I don't even know, I'm choosing her. I wouldn't even ponder the question.

 

[Supreme Unleaded]

i think it should be a 60% 40% deal kind of thing. The mother should have the overal choice of what happens to her babie but the father should also have an influence, just not as much.

 

[LadyZephyr]

Wow, I find it fascinating that most of the men here seem to think guys are more likely to force the woman to the clinic rather than away from it. I more often heard tales of the opposite- of the father wanting to stop the abortion.

Just kinda interesting.

 

[loremazd]

What the heck? You think a man should be able to -force- the woman to abort? Nobody gets to make decisions about your body unless you sign that power over to them legally. And how could you enforce that, would she be arrested or sued if she didn't comply with it?

I sympathise with the opposite plight, for sure. It sucks if the male wants to keep the child and the female doesn't, but I can't fathom the ramifications of this scenario.

 

[Skarvig]

Of course he should have a say. He is the one who pays for the child if the parents get divorced. But a agreement could help in this situation.

 

[Biek]

Ive been witness to one of these situations where a friends GF got pregnant and he didnt know what to do. Basically she was going to keep it and told him he had nothing to say and just had to fork over money. Wich sounded pretty harsh and unfair.

Should this happen to me, ill only ask that whatever choice she makes, to do it soon. The worst thing I can think of is getting used to the thought of becoming a father, only to learn that she eventually does decide to have it removed.

 

[Foolishman1776]

Such questions are not easily answered. Anyone who can take a hard line stance on abortion isn't really the thinking type, I think.

 

[JaredXE]

Yes, they should get a say; But only if he wants the kid, and she wants the abortion.

I don't know of many cases like this, but he should only get a say in the defense of the life of his baby. My defense for this is that men are more likely to want an abortion to shirk responsibility; where, if the woman wants an abortion, then she wants to shirk her responsibility. Therefore, having the child is the more responsible action, and the responsible one should always get their way.

I have to disagree. Having a child is not always the most responsible action. If neither parent has the money or maturity(too young, too drunk, or too much partying), then giving birth and subjecting an innocent child to the foibles of their parents is gross mismanagement of their responsibility. A child is a tiny person trapped by the decisions of the bigger people around them.

I actually would advocate mandatory abortions to certain people, with sterilization if they keep trying to get knocked up. And by "certain people", I mean drug addicts (NO, I don't care what you say, they lose all rights to spawning and polluting the gene pool when they get sent to prison for meth or crack.), sexual offenders and violent criminals. And people that think pro-wrestling is real.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I support a system whereby the father would be able to, in essence, 'renounce' the child - forgoing all rights to the child, including being registered as it's parent, but also not being compelled to pay support for the child.

Any objections?

 

[KarumaK]

I don't believe the man should have any say in the matter of abortion. It's a pretty serious thing and affects her far more than him. However, I do believe that a solution is a 'Legal Abortion' ,for lack of a better term, for the man. It works the same way as a regular abortion. This way the woman gets to choose if she wants to be a mother, and the man gets to choose if he wants to be a father.

Seems fair, no?