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Can Men Opt out of Child Support in an Unplanned Pregnancy?

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  • Can Men Opt out of Child Support in an Unplanned Pregnancy?

    I am not usually a debate forum type person, but this was interesting to me-

    Lawsuit seeks right to decline financial responsibility for kids

    Wednesday, March 8, 2006;

    NEW YORK (AP) -- Contending that women have more options than they do in the event of an unintended pregnancy, men's rights activists are mounting a long shot legal campaign aimed at giving them the chance to opt out of financial responsibility for raising a child.

    The National Center for Men has prepared a lawsuit -- nicknamed Roe v. Wade for Men -- to be filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Michigan on behalf of a 25-year-old computer programmer ordered to pay child support for his ex-girlfriend's daughter.

    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. The activists involved hope to spark discussion even if they lose.

    "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."

    Feit's organization has been trying since the early 1990s to pursue such a lawsuit, and finally found a suitable plaintiff in Matt Dubay of Saginaw, Michigan.

    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.

    Dubay is braced for the lawsuit to fail.

    "What I expect to hear [from the court] is that the way things are is not really fair, but that's the way it is," he said in a telephone interview. "Just to create awareness would be enough, to at least get a debate started."

    State courts have ruled in the past that any inequity experienced by men like Dubay is outweighed by society's interest in ensuring that children get financial support from two parents. Melanie Jacobs, a Michigan State University law professor, said the federal court might rule similarly in Dubay's case.

    "The courts are trying to say it may not be so fair that this gentleman has to support a child he didn't want, but it's less fair to say society has to pay the support," she said.

    Feit, however, says a fatherhood opt-out wouldn't necessarily impose higher costs on society or the mother. A woman who balked at abortion but felt she couldn't afford to raise a child could put the baby up for adoption, he said.
    'This is so politically incorrect'

    Jennifer Brown of the women's rights advocacy group Legal Momentum objected to the men's center comparing Dubay's lawsuit to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing a woman's right to have an abortion.

    "Roe is based on an extreme intrusion by the government -- literally to force a woman to continue a pregnancy she doesn't want," Brown said. "There's nothing equivalent for men. They have the same ability as women to use contraception, to get sterilized."

    Feit counters that the suit's reference to abortion rights is apt.

    "Roe says a woman can choose to have intimacy and still have control over subsequent consequences," he said. "No one has ever asked a federal court if that means men should have some similar say."

    "The problem is this is so politically incorrect," Feit added. "The public is still dealing with the pre-Roe ethic when it comes to men, that if a man fathers a child, he should accept responsibility."

    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."

    The president of the National Organization for Women, Kim Gandy, acknowledged that disputes over unintended pregnancies can be complex and bitter.

    "None of these are easy questions," said Gandy, a former prosecutor. "But most courts say it's not about what he did or didn't do or what she did or didn't do. It's about the rights of the child."
    Mom to three wild women.

  • #2
    Wow...so if I understand this correcty, a man can basically say "your body, your life...but..if you don't choose an abortion then I shouldn't have to pay?"

    Wow...Here's a thought for the man...CONDOM. His body, his life, his choice

    An unintended pregnancy is hard for everyone. I understand it might be tough for the man to pay...especially when the relationship is over...of course, it's not like the woman took the easy way out if she is actually raising the child!
    ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
    ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

    Comment


    • #3
      This is a consequence of abortion-on-demand that many people saw years ago.

      The logic of this "men's rights" group is actually very sound. They are simply following the line of reasoning used by pro-abortion groups to its natural conclusion.

      I've always believed that casual abortion (ie abortion not obtained for life-threatening reasons nor in the wake of rape) serves men more than women. It's a great deal for men, actually. And, this group is just following the natural path of the current legal climate.
      Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
      With fingernails that shine like justice
      And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

      Comment


      • #4
        BTW - I agree that if a man CHOOSES to participate in an act that could result in the creation of another human being he must be held accountable for his CHOICE.

        Of course, I believe the same logic and reasoning applies to a woman taking responsibility for her CHOICE to participate in an act that could result in the creation of a human being.
        Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
        With fingernails that shine like justice
        And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

        Comment


        • #5
          Clearly my values are indicated in my choice to be stay at home dad, so I can ask this, "if the woman does not want the kid, shouldn't the dad have a chance to say ""yes"" and the woman pay support?"

          Fun!

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by pstone
            Clearly my values are indicated in my choice to be stay at home dad, so I can ask this, "if the woman does not want the kid, shouldn't the dad have a chance to say ""yes"" and the woman pay support?"

            Fun!
            yes...absolutely!
            ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
            ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

            Comment


            • #7
              Yeah, it sucks that he was duped but he took the chance and could have covered his bases, so to speak. He still has some responsibility here.

              How many women have been duped by the "I've had a vasectomy" or "I can't have children"?

              The really sad thing is there is a little girl that has a scammer for a mom and dad who has no interest in her well-being or supporting her emotionally or financially. (Based on how both come across in the article).

              But....how do you settle a difference of opinion between adoption and supporting the child? Or, in a case I know of, settle the difference of opinion on who gets to adopt the child? Very sticky.

              Comment


              • #8
                Yeah, it sucks that he was duped but he took the chance and could have covered his bases, so to speak....

                (In the best Beavis & Butthead voices you can imagine...)

                'She said 'covered his base'!...hee hee...yeah, and 'sucks'...'




                Ok, I need to get out of the debates....I am just muckin it up...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Matt, your responses are priceless.




                  Sally
                  Wife of an OB/Gyn, mom to three boys, middle school choir teacher.

                  "I don't know when Dad will be home."

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