Roe VS Wade ~ The Next Chapter
Has anyone been keeping up on this? A man and woman are in a relationship. The man tells the woman he doesn't want children right now and is in no place in his life to be a father. She tells him that she is unable to get pregnant and that she takes birth control pills for another reason. Low and behold, she gets pregnant, keeps the baby and he has to fork over $500 a month in child support. He says he's not a father, he wasn't given the same choices as women are given and that's discrimination.
Wow. At first I felt strongly one way, then the other and now, doggone it if I don't know who is right in this case. The more I think about it, the more confused I get. I had heard about this a little bit but happened to Tivo Dr. Phil the other day (I only watch it if it's something that looks interesting) and he was on a recent episode stating his case. Dr. Phil made some good points, one of them being that if this law gets overturned that it'll open up a can of worms with regards to real deadbeat dads. Dr. Phil says that he should have worn a condom no matter what. I just don't know on this one.
A very interesting case. If I were in a non-commited relationship where I wasn't able to get pregnant, was taking birth control and the man clearly told me he didn't want to be a father, would I force parental rights and obligations on him if I chose to have the baby? I honestly don't know...
What are your thoughts about this one?
posted by Donna Lynn @ 1:27 AM
2 Comments:
Ooh, that's a toughy. My first thought was that the man should have taken responsiblity himself for preventing unwanted pregnancy (i.e. condom)and not put all the responsibility on the woman. You play, you pay. You know. A man should realize, any time he has sex with a woman, he could possibly be creating a baby, and should take the necessary precautions unless he's prepared to be a Father. If not, then he shouldn't be having sex. It would be a terrible mistake to change the laws. That's my opinion. (I'm with Dr. Phil) The man should put on his big boy panties & deal with it!
I have not heard about this case, but by what you describe I can say this. The first problem is "non-committed relationship"...what is that??? I imagine there are some people who have recreational sex, but if a pregnancy occurs, the parties involved are in another ballgame. Let's grow up and be responsible and not whine about the 'fouls'. There is a baby and if it is this man's child, he should take responsibility for it. Personally, I'm just sorry to see situations like this where people have to even ASK if it's their child. Not telling anyone how to live their lives, but we each have to deal with the consequences of our choices, even when the consequences aren't what we expected and aren't comfortable. So yes, he should help support this child.
What about the child? It's not his/her fault that the parents didn't expect him. He's here and they should love him and realize that he is a person, too, with feelings. They need to both nurture and love this child even if they choose (choices, again) to not live in the same household.
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