Women Have a Choice; Men Should Too

I may have posted this before.. but just in case, here it is again.
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http://mensnewsdaily.com/2006/04/04/...en-should-too/
Women Have a Choice; Men Should Too
April 04, 2006
Vox Populi
By Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks

A 25-year-old computer programmer has done what has long been thought
impossible-he has united the pro-choice feminist left and the pro-life
right. Matt Dubay of Saginaw, Michigan is the plaintiff in a new lawsuit in
which he seeks to wipe out the child support payments he is obligated to
make to an ex-girlfriend. He says he had made it clear to her that he didn't
want to be a father at this time, and that she got pregnant after she had
repeatedly assured him that a physical condition rendered her sterile.

National Organization for Women president Kim Gandy, conservative TV host
Bill O'Reilly and numerous commentators from all sides have criticized Dubay's
"Roe v. Wade for Men" lawsuit. Yet when commentators make the arguments
against choice for men-"if a man doesn't want to father a child he should
have used birth control," "men need to take responsibility whether they
wanted to have the child or not"-one can often detect a little confusion in
their eyes, as if a part of them is whispering "uh, wait a minute, but
couldn't you say the same thing about women?"

One and a half million American women legally walk away from motherhood
every year by adoption, abortion or abandonment, yet somehow nobody labels
them "deadbeats" or "deserters." In over 40 states a mother can return the
baby to the hospital within a few weeks of birth-completely opting out of
motherhood with less hassle than it takes to return a DVD to Best Buy. Yet
if the mother decides she wants to keep the child, she can demand 18 (or in
some states 21 or 23) years of child support from the father, and he has no
choice in the matter.

Feminists have long based their support for Roe v. Wade around the slogan
"My Body, My Choice." Women's rights legal advocate Jennifer Brown denounced
Dubay's suit, explaining that "Roe is based on an extreme intrusion by the
government.There's nothing equivalent for men."

However, 100,000 men each year are jailed for alleged non-payment of child
support, and federal Office of Child Support Enforcement data reveal that
70% of those behind on payments earn poverty level wages. When states force
a man to be financially responsible for a child he never wanted, and jail
him if he comes up short, isn't that a terrible state intrusion too? Don't
the sacrifices required to pay tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in
child support over two decades take a heavy toll on a man, too?

Research shows that many men are unwillingly drafted into fatherhood, just
as Dubay claims he was. The National Scruples and Lies Survey 2004 conducted
in the United Kingdom found that 42% of the women in the survey said they
would lie about contraception in order to get pregnant, regardless of the
wishes of their partners. According to research conducted by Joyce Abma of
the National Center for Health Statistics and Linda Piccinino of Cornell
University, over a million American births each year result from pregnancies
which men did not intend.

Under choice for men, unmarried fathers would have a one-time right to
relinquish their parental rights and responsibilities within a month of
learning of a pregnancy, just as mothers do when they choose to give their
children up for adoption. Women would still be free to exercise all of the
reproductive choices they now have.

Gandy, O'Reilly, Brown and others claim that the current system is necessary
because it protects children. In reality, over time choice for men would
greatly benefit American children-if women knew that they could not compel
unmarried men to pay to support children they did not agree to have, the
number of unwed births (and the huge social problems associated with them)
would be reduced. Choice for men means better parenting because more men
will be able to become fathers when they'Women Have a Choice-Men Should
Toore married, willing, and stable-a huge benefit for children.

Women's advocates correctly note that pregnant women often have legitimate
reasons for not wanting to be mothers, including youth, finances and the
lack of a suitable relationship or marriage. Yet all of these apply equally
to men. Women have a choice-men should, too.

This article first appeared in the Saginaw News (4/2/06). Jeffery M. Leving
is one of America's most prominent family law attorneys. He is the author of
the book Fathers' Rights: Hard-hitting and Fair Advice for Every Father
Involved in a Custody Dispute. His website is www.dadsrights.com.

Glenn Sacks' columns on men's and fathers' issues have appeared in dozens of
America's largest newspapers. Glenn can be reached via his website at
www.GlennSacks.com or via email at .

"Dusty" wrote in

However, 100,000 men each year are jailed for alleged non-payment of child
support, and federal Office of Child Support Enforcement data reveal that
70% of those behind on payments earn poverty level wages.

LOL, 100,000 x $30K = $30 Billion. The Government spends this much to try
get 1/10th that is owed by people with no money.