Thursday, March 09, 2006

Fatherhood Suit: Roe vs Wade for Men?

Contending that women have more options than they do in the event of an unintended pregnancy, men's rights activists are mounting a long shot legal campaign aimed at giving them the chance to opt out of financial responsibility for raising a child.

The National Center for Men has prepared a lawsuit -- nicknamed Roe v. Wade for Men -- to be filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Michigan on behalf of a 25-year-old computer programmer ordered to pay child support for his ex-girlfriend's daughter.

The suit addresses the issue of male reproductive rights, contending that lack of such rights violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.

The gist of the argument: If a pregnant woman can choose among abortion, adoption or raising a child, a man involved in an unintended pregnancy should have the choice of declining the financial responsibilities of fatherhood. The activists involved hope to spark discussion even if they lose.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pa just had a case where the father wanted to keep the baby, and birthmother wanted to abort. The father had no rights, the court deemed her body her choice. So men can't decide anything, the birthmother has all the rights. All men are is a paycheck, as one person said . It's welfare without the state.

Anonymous said...

As for my situation, I may be the father of an unwanted child. There is a beautiful 2 year-old girl conceived in deceit and deception, instead of love and understanding by two otherwise wonderful people, who may be trapped in the midst of an all out war.



When I first met the mother, I told her that I didn't want a child with her or anyone else until I was married. She advised me not to worry about that because she was on the pill. In the beginning, even though she told me she was on the pill, I still used a condom with her because I feared contracting a disease as well as getting her pregnant. However, as time went on, I became more and more comfortable with her and would sometimes choose not to use protection. For a while, everything was fine even though I wasn't always protecting myself. Then one day, I decided to call her to end our casual relationship because things had gotten more serious between my girlfriend and me. As luck would have it, she called me a few weeks later to tell me she was pregnant. I then asked her how could she be pregnant if she was on the pill. To my dismay, she then stated that she was never on the pill. She even stated, "Just because I told you I was on the pill but wasn't, doesn't mean I should go through this alone." At that point, needless to say, I became very irate. I requested that she have an abortion, but she refused. Citing that I would be willing to take care of the child alone but didn't want to ever have anything else to do with her, I requested that she let me adopt the child and never contact the two of us again. She refused both options, so I decide to distance myself from her. As the pregnancy progressed and my raged dampened, I begin to re-invest in a possible relationship with her simply for the sake of the child. I was there with the mother as much as possible. I would visit her often just to make sure she was okay, brought her fruits and vegetables, bought the mother-to-be a mother's day gift, and even went to some of her prenatal doctor appointments trying to show support. All the while, I'm dying inside because of the helpless feeling brought upon me by a deceitful person whom I must now spend the better part of my life with. And now there's a beautiful child involved in an ugly war of two very strong-willed people, neither giving an inch. Me fighting to preserve the life I worked so hard to acquire, and her fighting to tear it down. Regardless of the outcome, we all lose. I lose, the mother loses, but most all, the child loses.



Becoming a parent is a life-altering decision. Unfortunately, for a man, someone else ultimately decides to alter his life. Rather you agree or disagree with the moral implications of Roe vs. Wade for Men, you must understand, that it is trying to correct without a doubt the most one-sided law under this great nation. No other law ever implemented intentionally excludes nearly half of the general population. And it is the only law that discriminates based on either race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. All men are asking for is equal protection. Nothing more, but nothing less either."

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with this post. I am in a similiar postion. And even though I am providing financial support, when she gets angry or upset she threatens to take to me to court for more money. I am now married and have a family of my own and this woman has done everything that she could think of to destroy my relationship just because I didn't want a liar for a partner.

Also my brother had a relationship with a young lady who moved away. After 5 years he was contacted by child support. They gave her back child support for 5 years. So without ever seeing he is $13,000 in the hole, which killed his credit. He was not given a DNA test even though it was requested numerous times. Then he found out that she does not even keep the child. Her family took the child because she strung out on meth so his support goes directly to her for her addiction. How is that beneficial to the child?

The women who are responsible, honest have to contend with the ones that are abusing the system for revenge. So the men should have a way to counter this type of attacks!