One man's (yes, man's) views on abortion

[ShimokitaJer]

Okay, so maybe the last thing we need right now is yet another abortion related thread, but I'm disgusted with how this extremely important issue is being degraded into a "Battle of the Sexes" style accusation-fest. No, men can't have babies and will never know the pain of childbirth, but that doesn't mean that men deserve no input on the issue of the legality of abortion.

First, in any individual instance of pregnancy, the decision whether or not to abort is ENTIRELY the woman's choice. If she is a woman who values the father of her child, she may choose to include him in the decision-making process, but that too is her choice. But because no man is directly involved in carrying or giving birth to his child, no man has the right to impose his will over a woman regarding her pregnancy. By the same token, no woman has the right to impose her will over any other woman regarding her pregnancy. This is an issue of personal privacy -- not gender.

The issue of the legality of abortion, on the other hand, does have a direct impact on men as well as on women. The issue is about restricting the power of the state to exert control over the lives of individuals, about refusing to let fundamentalist Christians force their definition of life on the rest of us, and about guaranteeing the same right to reliable health care that the wealthy enjoy to the poor. I will never be pregnant, but the movement to restrict abortion threatens MY rights just as surely as it threatens yours

I am not gay, but I believe the refusal of the state to acknowledge gay marriage sets a dangerous precedent of selective protection of rights. I do not look like an Arab, but I believe the focus on men who do in the fight against terror threatens the rights of every American. And I am not a woman, but I'll be damned if you can tell me the issue of the legality of abortion doesn't affect my rights.