Paternal rights and abortion

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The paternal rights and abortion issue is an extension of both the abortion debate and the fathers' rights movement. Men, it is argued, should share equal rights with women in the decision of whether or not a pregnancy is to be carried to term, requiring that the biological father either consent to or be informed before his wife or girlfriend undergoes an abortion.

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[edit] History

Roman law allowed abortion but regulated it so as to protect the rights of the biological father. Emperor Septimius Severus ruled circa 211 CE that a woman who had an abortion should face exile for having bereft her husband of children. [1] [2]

In his speech Pro Cluentio, delivered in 66 BCE, Cicero refers to a case he had heard of in which a woman from Miletus was sentenced to death for having aborted her pregnancy, upon receiving bribes from those who stood to inherit her husband's estate if produced no heir. Cicero said that in doing so she had "destroyed the hope of the father, the memory of his name, the supply of his race, the heir of his family, a citizen intended for the use of the republic". [3]

A 4th-century BCE Greek writer from Alexandria, Egypt, Sopater, quoted the lawyer Lysias, who had referred to a trial in Athens in which a man named Antigene accused his wife of having deprived him of a son by having an abortion. [1]

[edit] Laws and cases

The legal right of a male to advance his reproductive interest, whether it be toward abortion, fatherhood, or adoption, over those of the female partner in a relationship remain unclear or contested in many regions.

Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malawi, Morocco, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates all have laws which require that an abortion first be authorized by the woman's husband. However, in some countries, this stipulation can be bypassed or overridden if there is genuine concern for maternal health. [4]

Since Roe v. Wade, some states in the United States have enacted similar laws, which require spousal notification or consent. One such law in Pennsylvania was overturned in the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

A number of legal cases have arisen around the world in which men have sought to assert their interests against abortion:

  • William Paton of Liverpool, United Kingdom attempted to stop his separated wife, Joan, from undergoing an abortion in the 1978 case Paton v. Trustees of British Pregnancy Advisory Service Trustees. A judge ruled in his wife's favour and Mr. Paton's later request for a hearing before the European Court of Human Rights was also denied. [5] [6] [7]
  • Richard Carver of the United Kingdom tried to prevent an abortion in the 1987 case C v. S. He claimed that the Infant Life (Preservation) Act applied to the fetus, as, at the time, his ex-girlfriend was 21 weeks along. When the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal dismissed the case, it was brought before the House of Lords, where three Law Lords sided with the earlier decisions. The entire legal process took 36 hours, as the Health Authority refused to allow an abortion before a decision was reached, making it one of the fastest cases in the history of British law. Nonetheless, the woman involved chose to carry the pregnancy to term and gave the baby to Carver. [8] [5] [6] [7]

[edit] Debate and public opinion

A man's place in both the personal decision of abortion and its surrounding political debate is a subject of much discourse. It is a particular cause among fathers' rights advocates, members of the men's movement, and those who believe that the apparent legal precedent of maternal over paternal rights set in many Western nations is an example of sexual discrimination. In the words of Armin Brott, the author of a number of books on parenting and fatherhood, "A woman can legally deprive a man of his right to become a parent or force him to become one against his will." [11]

Those who share do not uniformly share a single creed. In a 2003 Gallup poll in the United States, 72% of respondents were in favor of spousal notification, with 26% opposed; of those polled, 79% of males and 67% of females responded in favor. [12]

Those who defend paternal rights believe it is unfair that women are often given greater reproductive liberty: a woman can choose whether to abort a pregnancy, or carry it to term, and then whether to parent the child or place it for adoption. All of these decisions, it is argued, can result in emotional, financial, and other consequences for the biological father, and yet the man's opinion in the matter is seldom consulted in the decision-making process or given weight in legal considerations. If the man desires to be a father, the woman can still have an abortion, regardless of the deleterious effect to his mental health; if, on the other hand, he doesn't desire to raise a child, then the woman can give birth and he may still be liable to pay child support.

Some supporters of paternal rights seek to grant men social equality with women. Supporters, however, downplay the concept of men having the ability to impose their wishes in the abortion decision with any finality. A term which is used by some is "equal choice", meaning that the masculine and feminine choices are of equal importance, if not identical in nature: it is asserted that the woman can choose whether or not to carry the pregnancy to term and the can man choose whether or not to assume financial responsibility for the child which might result. Their stance is that granting a man the ability to forego fatherhood and the requirements thereof does not diminish the "woman's right to choose."

Those who oppose paternal rights hold that, because it is the woman who must physically go through the nine months of pregnancy and risk its associated complications, her will in the matter should be conclusive. In their opinion, permitting the man to opt out of any parental duty if the woman chooses motherhood is unacceptable, effectively allowing him influence or control over her ultimate decision, as she might not be able to financially support a child herself if she decides to carry to term. They concede that the current situation in many nations is slanted in favour of women but claim that the physical responsibility placed upon women by pregnancy balances out the financial responsibility which a child places upon men.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Riddle, John M. (1992). Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  2. ^ "Timeline 3rd Century." (2003). The Ultimate Science Fiction Web Guide. Retrieved June 9, 2006.
  3. ^ Cicero. (66 BCE). Pro Cluentio. (C.D. Yonge, Trans.). Retrieved June 9, 2006.
  4. ^ ,Rahman, Anika, Katzive, Laura, & Henshaw, Stanley K. (1998). A Global Review of Laws on Induced Abortion, 1985-1997. International Family Planning Perspectives, 24 (2). Retrieved May 26, 2006.
  5. ^ a b Nolan, David. "Should men have rights in abortion?." (March 21, 2001). Pro-Choice Forum. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
  6. ^ a b "Woman in Hone case has abortion." (March, 30 2001). British Pregnancy Advisory Services: Press Release. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  7. ^ a b Thorpe, Mathew Alexander. (2000). Consent for Caesarean Section: Part 1 development of the law. Catholic Medical Quarterly. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  8. ^ Brahams, D. (1987). An action by putative father and unborn fetus to prevent termination. Lancet, 1 (8532), 576-7. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  9. ^ "Abortion for court fight woman." (March 26, 2001). BBC News. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
  10. ^ Maximova, Vickie. "Chinese man sues wife over abortion." (March 20, 2002). BBC News. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
  11. ^ "Abortion and the father." (n.d.). BBC: Religion & Ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2006.
  12. ^ The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. (2005-11-02). "Public Opinion Supports Alito on Spousal Notification Even as It Favors Roe v. Wade." Pew Research Center Pollwatch. Retrieved 2006-03-01.

[edit] External links

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