Should the father have some say in abortions? No, absolutely not. If a father did, it would lead to a dangerous slippery slope, one that I don’t think Americans would like to go down.
I can understand why some would want fathers to have a say. After all, a fetus is part of the father as well as the mother, and when a baby is born, fathers are expected to nurture the child just as much as the mother does. Our society has evolved so that we try to give equality between the sexes.
However, a woman’s body is her own. She has to determine what she herself wants for her body. Nobody else should take that right away from her. Taking away even a portion of that right could lead to further erosion of her personal rights.
For instance, if a husband has a say in his wife’s reproductive status, does that mean he has a legal right to prevent her from taking birth control pills if he wanted to conceive but she didn’t? What about the other way? If a husband doesn’t want to conceive, should he be allowed to force a woman to use birth control?
These, however, are all cases of a man controlling a woman’s reproductive rights. Could it go the other way? Should a wife have a say in her husband’s reproductive status?
What if a husband wishes to get a vasectomy because he doesn’t want any more children? Should he be forced to get his wife’s consent? Or what if a wife doesn’t want anymore children but doesn‘t want to get surgery herself? Should she force her husband to get a vasectomy to prevent having children with him?
If a wife wants a child by her husband but her husband doesn’t want one, should she be able to retrieve his sperm by invasive means so she can have a child without his consent?
All the previous scenarios suggest that this issue only occurs between a husband and wife. It would be naïve to believe that only married couples get pregnant. What if we complicate that matter a bit?
What if a woman get pregnant by someone who’s not her husband? Who then gets a say if she wants an abortion, her husband or the father? The husband will more likely than not have to pay for the child. He also may try to force his wife to have an abortion because it’s not his child. If the father must have a say, what if he can’t be found?
If his consent is required for a woman to have an abortion, the woman may be forced to bear the child if she can’t identify the father. If the husband nor the wife want the child but the father does, does that mean that the couple is forced to pay child support to the father?
This issue raises too many questions. It requires too many opinions from too many people when it comes to one person’s medical status. Another person should not have that kind of control over a person of age. To allow that would be an infringement on our individual liberties and rights.
Should the father have some say in abortions? No, he shouldn’t. When it comes right down to it, a person’s medical status is private and is only between that person and their doctor. A man shouldn’t have a say in what his wife does with her body. Likewise, a woman shouldn’t have a say in what her husband does with her body. To allow it would be to take away too many of our individual freedoms.