Blog Jones

This is interesting; a guy by the name of Matt Dubay is suing to avoid having to pay child support in a suit that the National Center for Men calls “Roe v. Wade for Men.”

According to the story:

The suit addresses the issue of male reproductive rights, contending that lack of such rights violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause.

The gist of the argument: If a pregnant woman can choose among abortion, adoption or raising a child, a man involved in an unintended pregnancy should have the choice of declining the financial responsibilities of fatherhood.
…
“There’s such a spectrum of choice that women have — it’s her body, her pregnancy and she has the ultimate right to make decisions,” said Mel Feit, director of the men’s center. “I’m trying to find a way for a man also to have some say over decisions that affect his life profoundly.”
…
Dubay says he has been ordered to pay $500 a month in child support for a girl born last year to his ex-girlfriend. He contends that the woman knew he didn’t want to have a child with her and assured him repeatedly that — because of a physical condition — she could not get pregnant.
…
Feit doesn’t advocate an unlimited fatherhood opt-out; he proposes a brief period in which a man, after learning of an unintended pregnancy, could decline parental responsibilities if the relationship was one in which neither partner had desired a child.

“If the woman changes her mind and wants the child, she should be responsible,” Feit said. “If she can’t take care of the child, adoption is a good alternative.”

It’s an interesting case. Of course, if the couple were married, this would be much less of a problem. And, of course, abortion is almost always the wrong answer. (I say almost because I think you can justify abortion in cases where the life of the mother is at stake. It’s sort of a self-defense measure.)

But as I understand the law–IANAL^*–the mother seems to be the only one who has the right to give the baby up for adoption, and the father has no say in it. That seems inequitable.

If there is going to be similar responsibility–that of caring for the child–then there should be a corresponding similarity in control. If the mother wants to give up the baby, she can; if the father wants to give up the baby, he should be able to as well.

^* IANAL means “I am not a lawyer”

Random Thought: You would not believe how good eight hours of sleep feels.

I fell asleep while doing homework last night at about 8:30; at 4:30AM I woke up, fed the dog, brushed my teeth, and went back to bed for another hour before my usual morning routine.

I can think coherently and focus on things. I was able to stay awake for today’s chapel message. I just feel good.

I need to do that more often.