February 19, 2018Nearly 1 in 4 pregnancies end in abortion, says Alan Guttmacher Institute. One issue that is talked about often is abortion and “my body, my choice” slogans referring to the mothers right to choose. What is hardly ever talked about is what choice men have during an unwanted pregnancy. Women voice their choice to make these decisions, but it takes two to make a baby. Thirty percent of women have abortions before forty-five according to a leading sexual and reproduction organization Guttmacher Policy Organization. Abortions have been debated for decades, but what has always been the case of “my body, my choice” has never been a case for what men go through.
First and foremost
Many leftists like Barack Obama has said he supports women’s rights but wants to reduce “unintended pregnancies” and minimize “the need for abortion.” While other liberals, such as Hilary Clinton, have not promoted abortion, but have condemned late-pregnancy restrictions on abortions. These liberals have sympathy for those who have become pregnant and are not ready for the responsibility. I feel that they should mention fathers in these comments, if the father chooses life for the baby he should be able to have a right to voice his choice. referring back to Clinton’s comment on condemning restrictions for women who wanted an abortion later in their pregnancy, it would hurt the fetus and a chance the abortion could fail, and the baby could be born with mortal wounds. In a article from ozy Tracy Moran writes, that “roughly half of all pregnancies are unplanned.” Many people think that it is impossible to be able to become pregnant when using birth control or a condom but that is untrue. In a article from the CDC Taking a birth control shot is .05 percent less likely to be impregnated compared to a pill which is 5 percent but there is still a small chance to get pregnant
What can guys do legally?
Should a guy be able to have a say in the women’s right to abort the baby? In China they have given the parents equal rights to the baby. If the woman decides to abort the baby a guy can bring it to court to solve the matter. In the U.K between 1987 to 2001 men have tried to prevent their former partners from having an abortion, but every case has failed. In the United States it is viewed as the women right, and should be able to choose because it is her body. If the pregnant partner wants to have an abortion she does not need consent from the husband and if there is an disagreement the women’s decision will stand over all because she goes through the pregnancy thus taking away any choice the father has. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the father does not need to be notified if the woman decides to have an abortion.
Father’s day is a day to remember, but for some men it is a time for pain to remember the past mistakes for others it is the pain they could not stop. One father a victim of two abortions said, “Abortion is a decision that doesn’t just affect the woman. It is a choice that also affects the father. He may have been the one who demanded and coerced the woman into the abortion, or he may have been the one who stood silently by as the choice was made, without ever being part of the decision-making process, and told about it only after it was an accomplished fact. In either case, the husband becomes conflicted, despondent, and angry”. Abortion can affect men too, because they do not get to choose what happens to the baby and may feel helpless. Dr. Catherine Coyle says that men suffer “suffer intense grief . . . as well as regret, helplessness, guilt, anxiety, anger, and emasculation.” For some men it can get so bad that they can suffer from PTSD and resort to drugs and other ways to cope. Men should be able to have a choice in abortion because it brings up forced fatherhood yes men can be affected if you choose to have an abortion, but they can also suffer from forced fatherhood
by artsybee
Men should be able to have a say in the decision between life and death of their child. Many women say it is their body, their choice. Ryan Mather from Epic Pew writes that the baby is a individual person and it is incorrect to say that the baby is part of the mother. The mother and the baby are genetically different, and they will genetically be repeated. What about the sex of the baby what happens if it is a boy, is it still part of the women? 8 weeks into the pregnancy the baby has all the major organs. To say that the baby is part of the women then at 12 months when the baby has feet does the women have four if the baby indeed a part of the women the she would have to say four. Many people bring up the fact that the baby relies on the mother for protein and nutrients. Which is true the baby does rely on the mother before and after birth, but very early in the pregnancy the Embryo is self sufficient for nutrient.
The baby is fed is through an umbilical cord like an elderly women is fed for the stage of life they are specifically in. So if a baby is determined to be part of the women or not by nutritional dependence, then the baby would be able to feed itself in the beginning of pregnancy and would be considered not part of the mother, but when the embryo relies on the mother to feed it then it does not become an individual being. Then it would again when it’s born and can feed itself typically in the early teens. If the baby is inside of the mother then does it automatically become part of the mother? No, that would be like saying if you sit in your car you are part of the car itself. For us it is like we wear clothes, jewelry etc, that is not a part of us so that being said physical contact or connectedness does not make the baby part of the women.
What can we do to help voice other ways to deal with unwanted pregnancy?
As men we have the opportunity to try to convince the women to try and think of other options. Kristi Burton Brown from live action writes , there are many ways to help voice your concern one by speaking up you must speak up and voice your concern. Also make sure to show them a video of an abortion to show them all the details and facts. Another one is to tell her that abortion will not fix life problems abortion is not something you do and move on, it can have problems that can be worse than what the women was already experiencing. It is also important to show her stories from women like this one, Until We Meet Again.
Before Roe and Wade made it legal for women to be able to make her own personal medical decisions including abortion. Many women thought abortion should have been legal to begin with as Stella Browne, attributed, The Sexual Dynamics of History says, ” What is this ban on abortion? It is a survival of the veiled face, of the barred window and the locked door, burning, branding, mutilation, stoning, of all the grip of ownership and superstition come down on woman, thousands of years ago”.
Made by Lokal_Profile,
Red: Illegal.
Purple: Legal in cases of rape.
Blue: Legal in cases of danger to woman’s health.
Green: Legal in cases of danger to woman’s health, rape or incest, or likely damaged fetus.
Yellow: Legal upon request.
Abortion is such a touchy topic, on whether the women should be able to or should not be able to kill a fetus. Also what the father can and should do to keep their baby from dying due to the rights of men in these instances where the father wants to keep the baby. The father should have the right to try and stop an abortion even if you think abortion should be able to happen you should not be able to kill a baby without consent of both parents. With that though I feel this subject is highly contested and Kristin Luker an professor of law in the Jurisprudence and social policy program and professor of sociology at the University of California Berkeley says it best, “Pro-choice and pro-life activists live in different worlds, and the scope of their lives, as both adults and children, fortifies them in their belief that their own views on abortion are the more correct, the more moral, and more reasonable. When added to this is the fact that should ‘the other side’ win, one group of women will see the very real devaluation of their lives and life resources, it is not surprising that the abortion debate has generated so much heat and so little light.”
Featured image by pixabay
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Jonny
Yes, I do believe you guys are all right in that I should have been more sensitive. I did not include rape, because I felt that would open up even more controversy in the topic and I did not have the space to do that. one out of six women have been sexually assaulted according to a Scientific American article “Here is Some Legitimate Science on Pregnancy and Rape” 64,080 US rapes in 2004-2005, minus the 15% of rapes that are of children under the age of 12 which gets us to 54,468 rapes of almost all reproductively-aged women, somewhere between 1,689 (3.1%) to 2,723 (5%) pregnancies from rape. Now this is still a huge number. I want to make it clear that I do not believe that these men who raped these women should have a vote in the decision to either keep or abort the child. The basis of my blog was mainly toward, a couple who potentially broke up and it turned out the women was pregnant. If it is the father’s child then he should be able have a viable opinion to want to keep and raise the child. Even if it is by himself I do believe he should get at least the opinion and the right to offer some kind of deal. Such as paying for the expensive of the pregnancy and keeping the mothers name anonymous . There are many different scenarios I forgot to mention in the blog I regret being more specific. I was asked if it involved the life of the mother during giving birth should the father have a right or opinion to choose. The answer is no, then it is not only about the unborn baby but about the mother’s life and if we are saying if the embryo is not a child or is not considered one then the mother’s voice should matter the most and take priority. I am sorry if it came off as sexist and no women’s rights I do believe they should have the power to in the end choose but I want more ways the dad can persuade to keep the child. I also do believe if she does choose an abortion the mother should have to notify the father either to say ” I am pregnant” or to say “I am going to have abortion” because I believe the father should know that to decide if he would like to have a chance to persuade in a friendly and civil way to look at other options to keep the baby.
Hannah
I don’t believe that your intent was to be sexists and I understand the complexity of the topic is simply impossible;e to include in one short captivating post. I do agree that it takes two to make a baby, but since men have a choice whether the child lives then men should also not be able to abandon a women and their child as well. It’s a two way street.
Kaylee
This blog made me consider many things. However personally, I think that when a man can push a pot roast out of his urethra (yes, women don’t give birth from the urethra, but it’s the closest comparison), then he can have a choice in the matter. Congrats on the controversial blog.
Student
Sure, the man gets a choice in whether or not the mother has the baby, but then the man has to stay with her. Another thing, late term abortions are extremely rare, and are only used when the mother will die if she has the child. That leads me to my next point, some women will die if they go into labor. Then, there’s rape victims, who probably don’t want a constant reminder of the man that used their body for their own selfish purposes. I would personally never have an abortion, but I am pro-choice. I believe that any woman should be able to make a choice about their own health. The government or any other person does not get to decide how a woman controls her health. If you were to look at abortion from a sympathetic standpoint, you would see all these issues.
Rachel
Congratulations, you post is controversial, that was the goal, right? However, there are multiple things you didn’t cover in your article, like the issue of rape. Should rapists get to have an opinion on what happens to their child? Personally, I disagree with the majority of your article, I am a strong believer that it is the woman’s choice to decide what happens to her body, why should men get to choose what happens when the woman is the one at risk with the pregnancy. Childbirth can result in long-term injuries or even death. What do men have to go through? Nothing. Sure some of them support women, but others run away from responsibility like little children. But either way, men don’t physically have to go through anything, they don’t have to deal with morning sickness, back problems, maternity clothes, doctors appointments, or the pain of giving birth. I agree that men should have an opinion, but there shouldn’t laws in place giving men power in the situation.
StudentBlogger
While I see your point, I don’t think men should have as much as a say, if any. It really should depend on the situation, but in the end, the male doesn’t suffer at all through this pregnancy. All the male really has to do, is provide support for the woman, while she suffers through morning sickness and other symptoms. I understand that males can be emotionally attached to the baby too though, and I can see where in a situation where there’s an obvious future and real love and support between the soon to be parents, the male should be able to express his opinion, and the woman should put some thought into what he wants to do, but in the end, I fully believe that it is the woman’s body, and she should not need to let men tell her what to do with it.
Kaytlin
I am pro-life, so I understand the generals of your article . But I think you lack much of the sensitivity around this subject. You don’t ever stop and talk about rape situations. Women in seven U.S. states can be legally forced to share custody of their children with their rapist fathers due to these states failing to pass legislation that would have allowed victims who have children from rape to block rapists’ parental rights. I think you could have made your article very strong if you were to understand this, and accept that not all fathers should have the right to their child.
Hayley
If people don’t want to have a baby there are so many ways to prevent it before it happens. Killing a fetus is not the only option. A common question is what about rape? A while back I thought abortion should only be legal for rape victims but then I realized it’s still killing a baby and that is terrible. I don’t really like abortion and you definitely have a point with the fathers having a say in what happens to their child. If women could make a baby on their own and if they’re the only one who gets emotionally attached to it then fine it is their decision but men are involved in this process and also have rights. I really liked this post it was well written and brought up some really good points.
Bart
A man should be able to have an opinion, but overall, its a woman’s body. Men don’t have to deal with the morning sickness and getting her uterus torn apart. A healthy couple should be able to talk it over and come to an agreement. But when it comes down to it, the baby is inside the mom, and it isn’t just going to magically come out. Plus, if laws like these came out, it would also protect the rapist, which would cause history to repeat itself. Not saying Men cannot have opinions, but there should not be laws protecting them.
snow
Yes, it does take two to tango, you are right. But do you also know how many males leave women who are pregnant leading them to take care of the baby they are stuck with alone with no say for them to stay. Or if they cannot handle the responsibility on there own the woman would be forced to abort the child in many cases. If a woman does not want to go through having a pregnancy for 9 months then do not make her, it was obviously a mistake they got pregnant if they are requesting an abortion. Maybe she always wanted to adopt or is not ready for this big responsibility, and if the guy really wants a child he can hit up a different woman and make babies with her, a woman who is ready for the child. A woman’s connection to the baby during those 9 months is a different closeness then the males, which changes once the kid is born. People should not force a woman to go through different body changes or putting her life on hold.
Carter
I understand your points on how you believe men should be involved in the process. However, in many cases the man and woman both are not emotionally, physically, or especially financially ready to support the child. I think that you could have possibly changed some of your diction, in order to make your points seem more on the soft side to portray the emotion you believe men are feeling. I feel like some of the diction you used was rather aggressive, and taking a lighter approach would be more convincing to the reader. Although I do believe that women should have the right to have an abortion, I believe your points are valid as well that the man should have some sort of say if they want to keep the baby.
Amber
I think the section where you talk about babies not being attached to woman and not depending on them is completely redundant. Are you trying to say that fetus’ would be better off just not having vital time in the uterus at all? If so, I’ve taken a child psychology class and could disprove that real quick. Also, you had a few grammatical errors. That’s all.
Adam
I think the point they are trying to make is that the child is a seperate body.