Male abortion
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The term "male abortion" was first coined by Melanie McCulley, a South Carolina attorney, in her 1998 article, "The Male Abortion: The Putative Father's Right to Terminate His Interests in and Obligations to the Unborn Child," which was published in The Journal of Law and Policy.[1] The theory recognizes that when an unwed female becomes pregnant she may choose abortion, adoption, or parenthood. The putative, or alleged, father, on the other hand, has no choice. McCulley states,
When a female determines she is pregnant, she has the freedom to decide if she has the maturity level to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, if she is financially able to support a child, if she is at a place in her career to take the time to have a child, or if she has other concerns precluding her from carrying the child to term. After weighing her options, the female may choose abortion. Once she aborts the fetus, the female's interests in and obligations to the child are terminated. In stark contrast, the unwed father has no options. His responsibilities to the child begin at conception and can only be terminated with the female's decision to abort the fetus or with the mother's decision to give the child up for adoption. Thus, he must rely on the decisions of the female to determine his future. The putative father does not have the luxury, after the fact of conception, to decide that he is not ready for fatherhood. Unlike the female, he has no escape route.
McCulley's "male abortion" theory equalizes the legal status of unwed males and unwed females by giving the unwed male by law the ability to "abort" his rights in and obligations to the child. If a woman decides to keep the child the father may choose not to by severing all ties legally.
On March 9, 2006 men's rights activists filed a lawsuit, Dubay v. Wells, aimed at giving men the right to opt out of financial responsibility for raising a child. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a man who is required to pay child support for his ex-girlfriend's daughter. [2]
[edit] Example
Jack meets Jill. Jill becomes pregnant. Jill wants to keep the child and Jack doesn't. If male abortion existed then Jack can sever his ties to the child and Jill would have to decide to have the child on her own or to have an abortion.
A subsequent version of this theory is set out in the book Black in 2100 the Quest by Daniel E. Perkins c 2000 published by Quality Books, inc.
[edit] References
- ^ McCulley, Melanie G. (1998). The male abortion: the putative father's right to terminate his interests in and obligations to the unborn child. The Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. VII, No. 1.
- ^ Male abortion rights
