I had always assumed that if a man had gotten a woman pregnant, then if that pregnancy is carried to term, both partners should be financially responsible for the child regardless whether the man had wanted to have the child or not. The mindset being "they got them pregnant, so you have to face the consequences'".

I was talking with some people online, and they asserted that if the man did not want to have the child, then they should be able to apply to be resolved of any financial responsibility towards caring for it. I was at first against this proposal, but I feel like I now understand it better. Our current legislation was created at a time where abortion was tantamount to murder, and since it was illegal, an obligation of financial responsibility was the only way to ensure that women weren't stranded with children they couldn't afford to raise. But now that we live in a world where abortion is legal (for now), and where abortion procedures are safer than carrying the child to term, there doesn't seem to be a good argument for men still needing to be financially responsible for unwanted children. Men probably would still need to assist in paying for the procedure, but outside of that, I think they had a point. Please explain to me if there is anything I'm failing to consider here.

I also want to apologize for the binary language I used in writing this. I tried at first to write this in a more inclusive way, but I struggled wrapping my head around it. If anyone can educate me in how to write in a way that doesn't disclude non-binary comrades, I would appreciate it.

  • warped_fungus [she/her]
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    4 years ago

    Maybe men should just fucking use birth control if they don't want kids lol??

        • ofriceandruin [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          Sure I guess, but so is the advice to "not act suspicious" in front of police or "not buy an iphone" if you can't afford healthcare. I just think it's important to not fall into a personal responsibility Jordan Peterson framing.

          • warped_fungus [she/her]
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            4 years ago

            Apples and oranges my guy. Like everyone else has already told you. It's literally personal responsibility. Except for rape, nobody is forcing you to cum inside, that's your choice.

    • join_the_iww [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      men (cis-men, to be exact) don't have that many good birth control options though. Cis-women have a decent number, but cis-men only have vasectomies (which aren't reliably reversible) and condoms/spermicide (which can be inconvenient, and people don't always use them correctly).

      If/when Vasalgel gets approved that'll change things.

      • warped_fungus [she/her]
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        4 years ago

        I agree that penis-havers need more and better access to birth control, but the choices for womb-havers are also a chore at best, a mind and body-altering substance at worst. A lot of people have issues taking hormonal options, and the non-hormonal one makes periods more severe or are irreversible. And to me, if it a crapshoot for all genders, then the responsibility should be more evened out than it seems to be. as a side note, I'm getting spayed in a few weeks and I'm so excited to not have to worry about it anymore!

      • kristina [she/her]
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        4 years ago

        why not just take estrogen its pretty effective tbh

        • ofriceandruin [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          I mean we could take a page out of the fundamentalist handbook and sew women's vaginas shut. I hear that's "pretty effective" too....

          Man where did all the reactionaries in this thread come from? Or were they here all along?

          • PapaEmeritusIII [any]
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            4 years ago

            The comment you’re responding to was a pretty obvious joke. I recommend logging out for a while

            • ofriceandruin [none/use name]
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              4 years ago

              Good to know that there are friendly leftists on this site and not a bunch of angry libs that freak out like your average Karen...

      • cilantrofellow [any]
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        4 years ago

        If/when Vasalgel gets approved that’ll change things.

        Yeah that’ll never happen (in this current world). No pharma company wants to lose their contraceptive industry to a single outpatient injection.