Abortion “Rights” for Men? Should Men Have the Right to Opt Out of Parenting?

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Apr 1, 2016   |   9:33AM   |   Stockholm, Sweden

It’s been a long-held belief of pro-abortion feminists that abortion brings men and women onto a more equal playing field when it comes to parenting.

However, more people are beginning to realize that this isn’t true at all. Men do not have a legal right to protect their unborn child’s life if the mother of their child wants an abortion. Pro-lifers have been working to expose this problem and to give men the ability to protect their unborn babies.

Some young abortion activists also are beginning to notice how abortion laws treat fathers unfairly. Unfortunately, their proposed solution to the problem could lead to even more abortions. The Independent reports the Swedish Liberal People Party’s youth wing (LUF Väst) is proposing a measure that would allow men to “abort” their paternal rights to their unborn child up to 18 weeks of pregnancy, the same cut-off for women to have abortions in Sweden.

LifeNews first reported about this radical proposal a few weeks ago. Though unlikely to pass, the measure has received more publicity in the past few weeks. In a recent op-ed for the British news outlet, writer Neil Lyndon pointed out how the measure is shedding new light on men’s inequality on abortion and parenthood decisions.

He noted: “Gradually, bit by bit around the developed world, the absolute monopoly that modern feminism has exerted with screeching intimidation for the last half century over every question to do with abortion – insisting that all rights belong exclusively to the woman – is being chipped away. Recognition is being required that other civic interests – the man’s, the foetus’s and the state’s – are also inextricably involved.”

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Lyndon seemed sympathetic to the radical proposal. He shared the story of a 48-year-old friend who met a woman through a dating network, went on a few dates and got her pregnant. The man claimed he was “effectively maneuvered into parenting after three dates.”

“In our present circumstances, as he puts it, ‘it seems that “the woman’s right to choose” includes the woman’s inalienable right to rope in some sucker as father,’” Lyndon wrote.

Lyndon wrote that the man turned out to be a good father who lives near his child and is involved in her life. However, the man still is bitter about being forced into parenting. Lyndon never mentions how the man or the mother of his child could have avoided the issue altogether by abstaining from sex.

He also interviewed the Swedish leader who is pushing the proposal:

Would this law apply to married couples? “Yes of course,” answered Marcus Nilsen, chairman of the [LUF Väst ]Western District youth group. “But it probably wouldn’t be a good sign for the marriage.”

Would the man’s declaration make any difference to the woman’s position regarding an abortion? “No,” he said. “It’s important that the final decision on an abortion should remain with the woman. This proposal doesn’t diminish that right in any way.”

… Intriguingly, unexpectedly, the Swedish proposal was drawn up not by men who could be scorned and dismissed as bitter and twisted but by females. According to Marcus Nilsen, “a group of three or four girls aged 17-20 were discussing the issue of fatherhood and were convinced of the lack of equality between the genders on this question.”

The political group has a history of radical proposals, including one that would legalize incest for consenting adults over the age of 15; and the new proposal is not expected to be seriously considered by the Swedish government, according to reports.

Such a proposal, if adopted, could lead to more abortions. Lack of support often is a key factor in women’s decisions to have abortions. Statistics show that most women who have abortions are unmarried, indicating lack of support from the father.

Some pro-lifers also argue that legalized abortion already is an outlet for men to escape the responsibility of parenthood. However, the flip side of the issue is that women also can use abortion to shirk the responsibilities of parenthood – even when the father wants the child.

However, there also is a third person in the equation, one who the Swedish group and Lyndon miss completely, one whose rights are always violated in an abortion. Abortion will never be able to solve the issue of inequality because its very purpose is to destroy the right to life of an unborn child.

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