Quote:
Originally posted by jwright25
If a woman chooses to have an abortion, is she not doing the same thing? If she aborts a pregnancy, is she not denying or disowning her own offspring/potential offspring? Why is the man any different from the woman here? She gets to choose but he doesn't. I agree that the well-being of the child is important, but if the mother knew she wouldn't be able to provide all on her own, and knew the father didn't want anything to do with the child, why would she keep the pregnancy and keep the child?
This is an interesting debate and very similar to one I was having with a coworker yesterday! We were discussing whether or not a man should have a say in an unwanted pregnancy. I know of a couple who had an unexpected pregnancy last summer. He wanted to have the baby, she didn't. She had the abortion. If the man is willing to raise the child, and the sex was consensual, why does he have no rights? I guess it all goes back to the question of whether or not the embryo/fetus/unborn child is just a part of the woman's body or something that is actually alive.
I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it with the new laws in South Dakota.
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There will never be an answer to the debate, because of the fact that women are the only ones who can carry a child. This would all be a lot easier if a woman who didn't want to have the child could somehow "give" the fetus to the man who did want the child....sci-fi I know...
Since we have a situation where only the woman is responsible for the fetus for 9 months, and the man can decide at any time during thost 9 months that he doesn't want the child after all and walk away, we have quite a dilemma. I personally feel that the woman has a bigger say, because she has a greater responsibility in the matter, in terms of having to go through with the pregnancy, alter her lifestyle (no smoking, drinking, etc.), and then may end up being the sole provider for the child.
A friend of mine once said "Maybe men should make their potential sexual partners sign a waiver before sex saying that if she ends up pregnant he is not responsible for the child in any way." I wonder how that would affect things.
Then again, both sexes could be more discriminating in their choice of a sexual partner.