The Lack of Reproductive Rights in America

Picture this. You are a senior in high school with a promising future and your entire life ahead of you. Then one morning, your world falls down around you. You find out you are going to be a parent. After one fateful night with a few friends and one special person, your future is in question. You weren't in a relationship, and even though you both used precautions to prevent pregnancy, it happened anyway. What are you going to do? Will you get married? Will you choose to abort you baby? Will you give your baby up for adoption? Maybe you will be a single parent. There are so many choices, with a limited time to think about them. There is so much to consider during this difficult time.

But what if you find out that the decision is not yours? Your future is not in your hands. Whether or not you are going to be responsible for another human being for the rest of your life is not YOUR decision.

One would think that in the 21^st Century we, as a society, have come farther than that. That in the beginning of 2009, we are still taking this choice away from prospective parents, young and old, poor and rich, married and single.

That the only way to remove yourself from this child is to wait until after the birth and go to court to prove why you are not ready to be a parent. You have to prove that you are not ready, physically, financially, or emotionally. Even after doing this, there is no guarantee, because the choice is still not yours, now it is up to the judge.

Maybe it is the other way around; maybe you feel you ARE ready to be a parent. You are excited and happy. Challenging as it may be, young as you are, you are ready to make the necessary adjustments and sacrifices that are necessary. Love swells inside of you, and you can not wait to hold your beautiful baby. But, you never will. Why? Because again, this is not your choice as someone else has decided for you that this baby will be aborted or given up for adoption. Even if you get the chance to hold your baby, you will have to give your precious bundle to someone else.

You have no choice. Does this sound like America? Maybe not, but it is.

The choice is taken from you because you are not this baby's mother; you are the baby's father.

Some men have fought for their decision to choose. It has gone to court and has been coined as the "Roe vs. Wade for men".

It states that men, like women, should be able to choose their fate within the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy.

Men can, at that point, surrender their parental rights AFTER the child has arrived. But this is costly and emotionally taxing. If women have the right to choose parenthood, men should too. Some men would like the right to a paper abortion. In essence, they would terminate their parental rights and responsibilities BEFORE the baby has arrived. Just like a woman can make this choice and have a physical abortion, men should be able to have the paper abortion for the same cost and in the same time frame. Motherhood is a choice and a privilege; it is not a legal obligation. Fatherhood should be the same.

Paul C. Robbins, PhD, points out that an underage boy can not legally consent to sex. But, if he has sex with an adult woman, (which is rape) and she has his child, he is expected to pay his RAPIST as soon as he turns 18. If he fails to pay, he goes to jail. If the state is going to jail men for failure to pay child support, it should also grant them the same reproductive rights it grants teenage girls. Click on the link for more on what Dr. Robbins' thoughts. http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/r/robbins/03/robbins103003.htm

Some argue that if a man plays he should pay. But the woman is not help accountable in the same way a man is. What if the man wants to keep the baby and is willing to be there and the woman wants to terminate the pregnancy? The man can not force the woman to carry his child to term for him. She can terminate the pregnancy without his permission. The man involved should have the same choice.

The bottom line is that it takes two people to create a baby, whether it is planned or not. Both parents should have the same reproductive rights, and the security in knowing that they can not be FORCED to do.

Please take the time to read and consider this carefully before commenting. Thank you for reading this controversial but important article.