Abortion Is Not Strictly the Woman's Private Matter

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Abortion Is Not Strictly the Woman's Private Matter

When it is said that abortion is just a woman's issue, we forget that there are two people involved in creating a child. Fathers are continually overlooked and disregarded in situations involving abortion. Many would say that a father is not affected by the woman's choice to have an abortion.

Legally, fathers are responsible for providing prenatal support for their preborn child, but have no legal rights if the mother decides to terminate the life of that child. Many fathers have gone to court to try to stop mothers from going through with their abortions. However, according to the courts, when it comes to abortion, a mother's right to abortion overrides a father's objections.

Following an abortion, a father can be as emotionally and mentally damaged as a mother.

Many fathers feel completely responsible for the death of their child, oftentimes blaming themselves for not being able to save their child's life. Many fathers grieve deeply for the loss, feeling worthless after failing to stop an abortion.

To say abortion is just a women's issue is to deny a father his rights and his loss. There are three parties involved in a pregnancy, and all are affected by all decisions made. Is abortion a matter of private morality, like deciding which church you're going to attend, or is it a matter of public morality - a matter of civil rights? If there's a victim involved, it's a civil rights issue. Is there a victim involved in abortion? There are many who say that there is not, that the preborn child is just a mass of tissue, a part of the woman's body. If this were the case, then no one would have any reason to oppose abortion any more than they would oppose tonsill...

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Hamlin, H. "Life or Death by EEG." Journal of the Amedos. Medical A's',, 1W12/84, p. 20.

Hooker and Davenport. The Prenatal Origin of Behavior. Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1952.

Noonan, "The Experience of Pain, New Perspectives on Human Abortion." N.p.: A1etheia Books, 1981. p.213.

Reinis, Stanislaw and Jerome M. Goldman. The Development of the Brain. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas Publishers, 1980.

Rockwell, P.E.,M.D. Director of Anesthesiology, Leonard Hospital, Troy, NY, U.S. Supreme Court, Markle vs. Abele, 72-56, 72-730, 1972. P.11

The Silent Scream. Cleveland, OH: American Portrait Films, 1984.

Tanner, J.M. and G.R. Taylor, Time-Life Books. Growth, New York: Life Science Life, 1965. p.64.

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