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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.
HistoryRoman 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]
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] Paternal rights in lawThe 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]
Example casesA number of legal cases have arisen around the world in which men have sought to assert their interests against abortion:
Debate and public opinionA 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. See alsoReferences
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