Originally Posted by Gilda

Of course it's a double standard, and in this case, it's a double standard that makes logical sense. The male and female roles during the pregnancy are fundamentally different in that the female does 100% of the work, has 100% of the responsibility for the pregnancy itself. She should therefore have 100% of the decision making to herself.

Before the pregnancy begins, absolutely both partners have an equal responsibility to take proper precautions and preparations. After the child is born, both parents should have equal rights and responsibilities. During the pregnancy itself everything is happening in the woman's body, so the decision making should be all hers.

Also, it seems that the focus here is on the wrong person. Once that child is born, the man who concieved the child is a father. He may not want to be, may want to abandon his responsibilities, but that doesn't change reality. He's a father. Child support is entirely about providing for the child's needs. Both sexes should be treated equally at this point; if the father has custody, the mother should pay support based on need and ability to pay. If one parent doesn't want custody, it should go to the other by default. If both parents desire custody, the determining factor should be what is in the best interests of the child.

Where the situations are equivilent, treatment should be the same. There is no male equivilent to pregnancy, so he's not in the same situation as she is. In different circumstances, different treatment is warranted.

And let's think about the consequences to the children involved. We'd be increasing the number of children being supported by a single parent.

No man, short of being raped, can have fatherhood forced on him.

Gilda