Parental Rights: Father’s Rights in Abortion Shelby Hubbard English 1020 Mr. Mann February 27, 2015

Aspects of father’s rights in abortion Current abortion laws give no rights to the father of the child. Abortion often has very negative after effects on both the mother and father. The main argument against father’s rights in abortion is that women have control over their bodies. Abortion should be a mutual agreement between both parents. In the situation of abortion, the biological father should have legal standing in whether or not the abortion takes place.

Abortion laws Current abortion laws do not require the father of the child’s consent or for the mother of the child to inform the father that she is having an abortion. The father has no legal say in whether or not the abortion takes place. He has no legal rights to the child until it is born. Some states are trying to pass laws in which the mother must have written consent from the father in order to have an abortion except when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. Laws such as this give fathers their human right to raise their child if they wish. Laws being the way they are now basically state that fatherhood begins when the child is born, yet motherhood begins at conception.

The effects of abortion on fathers Fathers who were not in favor of an abortion that took place often suffer from many psychological problems. Some of these problems include depression, substance abuse, future relationship problems, trust issues, and many more issues. Fathers have a natural instinct to protect their children, and when they have no control over whether or not the abortion takes place, they often feel emasculated and as though they have failed to protect their child.

Women’s Rights in abortion A common argument against father’s rights in abortion is that women have the right to their own bodies. Genetically, the child in the womb’s chromosomes are made up of half of the father’s DNA and half of the mother’s. Therefore, it is not a matter of rights of the mother’s body, but a matter of the father’s rights to his child that the mother is carrying. Many people who are pro-choice say that there is no way to give fathers rights in the case of abortion without terminating the mother’s rights. The man has no rights to begin with, only the mother, each parent should have legal rights to keep the child regardless if the other parent wishes not to.

Abortion as a mutual agreement “A woman can legally deprive a man of his right to become a parent or force him to become one against his will.” –Armin A. Brott The child genetically belongs to both parents, each parent should have a say. Everyone should have the legal right to be a parent to their child, instead of one parent making the decision to abort the child, consent should be given by the other parent. The father cannot tell the mother to have an abortion and she should not be able to abort his child without his agreement.

conclusion Fathers should have legal standing in whether or not their child is aborted to avoid long term psychological problems. Abortion laws need to be revised to include the biological father’s consent. Women have rights in abortion, but men do not. This is wrong because it is every person’s basic human right to be a parent. Abortion should be agreed upon between both parents before it takes place. Fatherhood begins at conception, not birth.

Works cited