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| Friday, December 2, 2005 10:49 PM |
| I'm like a camel over here |
| by poppy |
I don't suppose it will shock any readers that I am pro-choice. I doubt it is a big secret that I am very concerned with semantics, especially regarding abortion. So I wonder if my reaction to a man insisting that a father of a pregnancy has a right to input regarding the pregnant woman's decision to abort will come as a surprise.
On salon's broadsheet yesterday I read a run down of the NYT op-ed where a man argued just that, that a father of a pregnancy should have equal say. That upset me a bit, as much because (as a comment writer pointed out) speaking of a man's rights concerning "his child" confuses the issue, granting personhood to a fetus. As soon as that happens, my pro-choice friends, we're fucked. If you didn't know that, you must have been under a rock, but there it is. But I digress. I was equally offended, actually even more so, by the subtext of that arguement, the one purposefully (as far as I can assume) left unsaid: If a man has the right to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, he has the right to force her to have an abortion. Period. Can't not have it both ways, wouldn't be fair. And who could say that that would be a good idea?
This guy, apparently. If you need a giggle after reading it, click on the "Read Comments" and marvel at how many responses this has gotten in such a short period of time. So it turns out that I'm not crazy: When I looked at the comments, the first five said the very thing that was on my mind. Where is the man's right to choose you may ask? Why, the man has many rights to choose! He has the right to choose to use a condom, correctly and every time. He has the right to take full part in the birth control wishes of his female partner. And, and here's the real dinger, he has the right to find out ahead of time, before dinner's over, before clothes come off, to discuss with his female partner her views on unintended pregnancies and to ensure, at that time, before dinner is over, before clothes come off, that her views are simpatico with his. Is that to say that a woman won't ever change her mind? No. But a hormonal contraceptive coupled with a condom with spermicide is a pretty good way to hedge your bets against pregnancy, and if you think it is possible your partner might make a decision you will not agree with, don't fuck her. |
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