Roe v. Wade...For Men??
What happens when a man finds out his girlfriend is pregnant after making it clear he didn't want children and being told she couldn't get pregnant to begin with? This is a rising debate as a lawsuit is being prepared by the National Center for Men in defense of a man who is having exactly this problem. See the full article from USA Today.
There are definitely so many factors that play into this that I think it will take some serious looking at. Whatever comes of this will be quite interesting, though. If this case gets some ground, my fear would be...how many men would then try to use this argument to get out of having to pay child support? It will start to become a major "he said, she said" problem too.
Honestly, I think the whole child support system needs to be revamped anyway (as does the welfare system...but that's another story). In defense of the honest men, there are many who are trying to do the right thing in paying child support, but are being taken advantage of. For example, in a situation where the mother is clearly not fit to raise a child, why is it so hard to award custody to the father if he is a good and decent man? I know the argument of the woman having the right because she gave birth...but clearly, after there is a child brought into this world, shouldn't the well-being of that child be of utmost importance? What ends up happening is the unfit mother usually keeps the child and then the father, in a way, gets pulled into providing well over his share of the deal. And, to me, that's just not right.
What it comes down to for me, however, is that this will not, and should not, be an easy decision for the courts to make. I don't yet really know how I feel either way on the issue when there is deceit on the woman's part...which is what is being claimed in the above article. It's a sticky situation, for sure.
What do you think?? Please share your thoughts.
2 comments:
Hey Col,
This is a tough call for sure. There are many women who would get pregnant on purpose to hold on to a man or just to have a baby. But even though a woman says she's on birth control, the man can still wear a condom as well.
I agree with you that it is ridiculous that the law protects the mother at all costs and always favors mothers. From personal experience, I have a half brother who has a drug addicted mom. My father & mother would go to pick him up for the weekends and would come to a house filled with people blowing pot in my brother's face when he was 3 or 4. Even with all of this, the court still would not give custody to my parents. I thought the purpose was to protect the child and do what is best for them?
I think it would be dangerous to get into a he said/she said game when it comes to children. There are plenty of men who would say anything to get out of paying child support so where can the law draw the line & get involved?!? I guess we will find out.
Michelle,
Your family's experience is exactly what I was talking about. Thanks so much for sharing your comments.
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