By Nicholas Persad
A door opens and slams shut. A young couple walks into their living room. The countenance of the man is one that shows disgust and anger. The woman looks annoyed and frustrated. The man begins to plead with the woman. She looks at him and says, “It’s not your decision to make. You are not the one who will feel the effects of this for nine months.” The man walks away distraught.
This is often the scenario that occurs when there is an unwanted pregnancy in a relationship and the male has no control over the decision to abort the unborn child. Since Roe v. Wade, the most influential abortion case in U.S. History, which allows women to terminate an unwanted pregnancy once the fetus does not reach the point of viability there has been a great discrepancy as to what is fair for both persons in the relationship.
People who are pro-choice believe that is it the woman’s right to choose whether or not she wants to continue with the pregnancy as she is the one who will experience all the physical and emotional baggage that accompanies being pregnant. Also, it is seen as one of the few decisions that women are allowed to make on their own and if it were a mutual decision it would seemingly once again allow men to have full control.
People who are pro-life believe that regardless of the circumstance all life should be brought into this world with only a few exceptions such as if the pregnancy is life threatening. The current situation allows the woman to have full control of determining if the fetus is allowed to develop. Therefore if a man wants to keep the child and the woman does not he would have no way of preventing her from getting an abortion. This is where many critics of Roe v Wade say it is unjust.
“Men have absolutely no say in the matter of their children’s survival,” said Rev. Dr. Pablo Sanchez, director of ProLifeJoes, an online pro-life center. “Roe v. Wade took care of that, and the mindset of the modern woman does not generally support the rights of men.”
In an article titled, ‘Shouldn’t Men have ‘choice’ too?’ by Meghan Daum, a columnist for the LA Times, Daum promotes the point that Roe v. Wade allows women to protect their futures but it does not however allow for the protection of the future of the males in scenarios where the woman does not want to have an abortion but the man does. The man will thus be obligated to support a child that he never wanted until that child is 18. The article states, “But just as women should not be punished for choosing to terminate a pregnancy, men should not be punished when those women choose not to,”
The rights of men when it comes to abortion does not seem to be an issue that is at the forefront of the mind of the public or media so any change that could take place is not going to happen any time soon.
“Perhaps this will change, but it remains a sad place for men to be when their women are not pro-life. All we have currently is prayer and hope,” Sanchez said.
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