Originally Posted By ecdc >>It's called, "keeping your pants zipped up."<< In fairness to Donny, why is that any different than a mother doing the same thing? What is the argument for allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy rather than forcing her to carry it for nine months vs. allowing a man to opt out of eighteen years of child support? I actually think Donny's raised a fair point about the messiness of this entire topic. I think there's an argument against Donny (once a child is born, we require both parents to care for it in one fashion or another) but I don't think it's fair to be so dismissive of his every word typed, though he has brought a lot of that on himself.
Originally Posted By ecdc I also think if Donny had said "a woman should keep her pants zipped up," heads all over LP would explode and there'd be 100 posts in a row berating Donny.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Both men and women should either a). keep their pants zipped up, or b). use birth control, if they don't want to become parents. If a child is born, both parents are (and should be) on the hook for supporting it. Donny's question specifically was: "Should fathers have the choice not to pay child supports for a child they did not have the choice to have ?" which sounds to me like he's asking "If a father wants the mother to have an abortion, and she doesn't, should he have to pay child support?" And the legal (and proper) answer is: "Why yes. Yes he should." If he's asking "Should a father have to pay child support in general, since it's always the mother who ultimately decides if she's going to have an abortion or not," then that's just a dumb question.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 There is a time when both parents keep it zipped up, it's called marriage. Hey-o
Originally Posted By ecdc I did and I also saw what in inspired, which kinda proved my point. I think there's a fine line between responding to Donny's arguments, or even exasperation at what can most politely be described as silliness, and simply attacking him for not towing the liberal line. Abortion is a tough, emotional topic. I think there's legitimate room for debate on the rights of mothers, fathers, etc.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "In fairness to Donny, why is that any different than a mother doing the same thing? What is the argument for allowing a woman to terminate her pregnancy rather than forcing her to carry it for nine months vs. allowing a man to opt out of eighteen years of child support? I actually think Donny's raised a fair point about the messiness of this entire topic. I think there's an argument against Donny (once a child is born, we require both parents to care for it in one fashion or another) but I don't think it's fair to be so dismissive of his every word typed, though he has brought a lot of that on himself." Since establishing and enforcing child support is what I do for a living, allow me to answer this. No, fathers should not get a choice. Just the same, it takes two to make a baby. Choices were made when conception occurred. If the man didn't take proper precautions, i.e. a condom, whether or not the woman said she was on the pill, sterile, whatever, then he's at her mercy after the fact. Her body, her choice at that point. She's already literally opened herself up to him, she now gets to have the final say on what happens after that. I could elaborate more, but that's essentially how it goes and I have to be somewhere right now.
Originally Posted By gadzuux That's just the way it should be. Both the man and the woman have a responsibility, but ultimately the woman's responsibility will always be greater - that's because motherhood is something separate and apart from fatherhood. It may not be "fair", but it's an immutable law of the universe through all time and all species.
