Feminists claim to want ‘equality between men and women’, and
not just the more limited ‘equality before the law’, but a more ‘substantive
equality’ as well. Although I think that trying to create ‘substantive equality’
between the two sexes is madness, I do strongly support the equality of the
sexes before the law. In fact, it would seem that I support this more than the
feminists do…
I am referring to abortion law: one area of the law where men
and women are most definitely not equal. They are not equal because men are
shafted spectacularly by it!
In jurisdictions where abortion is legal, women are given
full control over whether they want to keep the child that they are bearing or
not. Men, on the other hand, are given no control whatsoever. If the mother
wants to abort the child and the father doesn’t, then too bad for the father;
the child is getting aborted. If the mother wants to keep the child and the
father doesn’t, then too bad for the father; he is legally obligated to support
the child financially regardless. In an effort to remedy this unfortunate
situation, I should like to propose two potential changes to the law; one for
the more ‘pro-life’ crowd, another for the more ‘pro-choice’ crowd.
Pro-lifers want all abortions to be illegal, but most
reasonable ones would probably agree that it is of higher priority to stop
abortions where the father is firmly opposed, than it is to stop those which
are agreed to by both parents. When a child who is out of the womb dies, it is
generally recognized that such an event is devastating to both mother and father.
Then why not recognize the devastation caused to a father who loses his
(wanted) child while it is still in the womb, at the behest of the mother no
less? For the law to completely ignore this kind of victim seems quite
unjustifiable.
How could we change the law fix this problem? Just require that
doctors obtain written consent from the father before performing an abortion on
the mother. In cases of rape or where the pregnancy is posing serious health
concerns for the mother, this condition can be waived. In cases where the
father is not known, the mother will be required to submit a list of potential
fathers. These can then be invited in for paternity testing; something which
can be done anytime after the 8th week of pregnancy[1].
If a potential father doesn’t show up, and the ones that do turn out not to be
the father, the mother can go ahead with the abortion. The mother lying about
potential fathers will be considered a serious offence.
A piece of legislation, similar to what I am proposing, was
actually put forth by an Ohio legislator named John Adams in 2009 (House Bill
252). Predictably, it went nowhere. A feminist writer from the Daily Kos labelled
it a “monstrosity”, and suggested that if passed, it would send women back to “the
kitchen”[2].
Many pro-choicers will undoubtedly oppose the above
suggestion, on the grounds that it would ‘excessively interfere with the right
of women to control their own bodies’. If you’re one of those people, don’t
worry; I have an alternative for you! If women should have the right to determine
whether they want an abortion or not, then why shouldn’t men have the same
option? Not a physical abortion, of course; but a financial abortion!
If an unmarried mother wants to keep the child, but the
father does not, then the father should be allowed to ‘opt out’ of fatherhood.
Before the child is born, he should have the option to waive all of his
parental rights and financial duties to the child.
A proposal of this kind was recently made by some members of
the youth wing of Sweden’s Liberal Party. The idea was viciously attacked and
ridiculed, with one man helpfully suggesting that all members of the party be “lined
up against a wall and shot”[3].
So both my suggestions were rudely dismissed by the political
mainstream, who claim to be concerned about equality between the sexes. Well, I
say that if you really are concerned about it, it’s one or the other. Either
that, or the whole ‘equality between the sexes’ thing is just a hypocritical fraud.
[1] http://americanpregnancy.org/prenatal-testing/paternity-testing/
[2] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/23/756636/-
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/08/men-should-have-the-right-to-abort-responsibility-for-an-unborn-child-swedish-political-group-says/?utm_term=.d48ac450d4ff
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