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Yes No
Debate Score:205
Arguments:87
Total Votes:250
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 yes (141)
 
 No (26)
 
 sacrificial offerings (1)

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kamranw(92) pic



Should a father have a right to refuse an abortion?

I feel that abortion is wrong. However, even it is allowed, should a person who will have to increase financial burden not have any say in whether it is allowed or not?


Yes

Side Score: 113
VS.

No

Side Score: 92
Vote Up Vote Down
8 points

Parents are the ones who must decide whether to have a child or not. Without any one of them the birth of the child is impossible. So, i feel, that dad also has a say in such proceedings that affect both of their lives

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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6 points

I believe a father should have a say in abortion. It takes two to make a child. Why should it take only one to abort a child?

54 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- Cerin(189) Disputed
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1 point  

It takes two to begin the process of making a child. After that though, it's largely the woman who does all the ground work.

53 days ago | Tagged As: No
- zombee(52) Disputed
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0 points

The creation of a child requires equal participation, and ideally, so would the raising of said child. However, the burden is unequal when it comes to incubating the embryo; the woman does all the work. Therefor, it makes no sense for someone who has no part in the biological process of the pregnancy to try to dictate what happens to it.

54 days ago | Tagged As: No
- joecavalry(8879) Supported
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6 points

How about we tell women that they are responsible for their actions and that there will be consequences to their screwing around?

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- joecavalry(8879) Disputed
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6 points

it makes no sense for someone who has no part in the biological process of the pregnancy

WHAT?!?!?! A father plays an important part in the biological process of the pregnancy. What are you talking about? You even say so yourself in the first sentence, "The creation of a child requires equal participation." And then you go and contradict yourself?

Incubating the embryo is part of raising the child. The mother would raise it for 9 months and then, afterwords, the father raises the child until age 18 without the mother who doesn't want the baby. The burden is unequal when it comes to raising the baby to adulthood; the man does most the work. The mother's role is done and over with after 9 months.

Now, for your information, it is a lot harder to take care of a child for ANY 9 month period AFTER the child is born than it is to take care of a child while it is "incubating". So , are you telling that you would rather kill the fetus (denying the fetus a chance at life, AND denying the father of his half of the baby) than carry it for 9 months? Is 9 months such a burden to bear for a human life?

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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0 points

Agreed. However, her decision to keep this child, will change this man's life whether he wants the child or not. Her decision not to keep the child, can prevent someone who wants to be a good and loving father the chance.

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
6 points

Because I really have nothing more to say on this subject, please refer to my last debate where this side did, in fact, win and where I posted all my thoughts on this subject.

http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/ Abortion_What_About_a_Man_s_Choice

Supporting Evidence: http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/Abortion_What_About_a_Man_s_Choice (www.createdebate.com)
53 days ago | Tagged As: yes

Yes he should if he is going to support that child all the way through. It doesn't seem as though the father has many rights at the present but he should.

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
2 points

Assuming abortion is legal at the time, like now, then yes, the father should have a say. It's his baby too. If I got my fictional girlfriend or wife pregnant and she went and got an abortion, I'd be devastated and most likely leave her. She has no right to kill my child because she doesn't want one at that time. The only times I'd tell her to get one is if the pregnancy might kill her or if it was from rape or incest. Even if she had cheated on me, I would urge her to keep it.

54 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- Banshee(240) Disputed
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1 point  

Urging her to keep it is fine. Voicing your strong opinions is fine. Saying "this will end our relationship" is fine (arguably it's not real supportive, but it is a legitimate position).

Mandating that a woman's body be subject to the demands of another person against her wishes for nine months, though, is not fine.

If and when the fetus can be successfully and safely transplanted into the father's body to gestate without any serious risks to the mother, then maybe the father should have a determinative say. But until then, the one whose body is at issue makes the call.

54 days ago | Tagged As: No
- joecavalry(8879) Supported
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6 points

All I see is that "the one that makes the call" can do as she pleases (screw around) without any consequences to her actions and all at the expense of the fetus. Hey, it's not the woman's fault. It is everybody else's fault (the father, the fetus, you name it). It is never the woman's fault. She never has any say in the matter when it comes to getting pregnant so she must be protected and allowed to have an abortion. Nice.

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- MKIced(1756) Disputed
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4 points

We all have to make sacrifices and sometimes we just can't get what we want. If I were a woman and I got pregnant, I think I would take the father's input into consideration. And if he truly wants to have the baby, then I would make the sacrifice to birth it. It's all a matter of owning up to your mistakes and understanding and following through with your consequences.

As a side note, I did not downvote your argument, so I will be upvoting it because you made valid points and it was well written.

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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2 points

I find it hard to believe how many people are so open to double standards and passing blame. The father should bear burden whether he wants the child or not. The mother should just be able to kill the child and have no consequence for her actions. Makes no sense.

The feminism movement caused so much uproar about how women were being mistreated and did not have equal rights. Why ignore it when its happening the other way?

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
2 points

I propose, that if a father wants an abortion and the mother does not, she should have to bear all burden of this child when it comes into the world.

Also, if the opposite happens and as already mentioned, he is willing to bear all financial burden, find someone else to deliver the child, free her of all burden after the child is born that he should have a say.

51 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
2 points

Yes, a father should be able to say no to an abortion because it isnt just the mother who conceived the child, they both conceived a child together. If they both can decide on having sex without protection, then they both can decide on whether to keep the baby or not.

50 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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2 points

I believe a father has the right to refuse an abortion because it is as much his kid as it is hers.....i mean why the fuck not? Just because the woman doesn't want to be fat or some stupid shit like that is no reason why the father should not be thought of in this decision, if you don't think you can support the kid then fine, but at least hear what the father thinks about it also

43 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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2 points

Has anyone thought of an argument that fundamentally would fit with the pro-choice argument (btw I am pro-life)... even if the fetus is a "thing" and not a "person," it still belongs to both the father and the mother. This thing, then should be one-half the property of the father - it doesn't matter where it is located, does that ever matter with property? If that is the case, what right does the mother have to destroy his property without consent and/or compensation??? This seems to violate the basic property laws of Anglo-Saxon law to me... Furthermore, doesn't the father have a de facto trademark or copyright on his sperm??? It is a unique code, fully owned by him? Our world would certainly mandate his consent should we use his DNA for purposes of cloning, stem cell research, etc. Doesn't he own his genetic code - and isn't, at the point of conception, the embryo composed of half his DNA??? So then, I leave you, my pro-choice colleagues, with an intriguing question - Is it then proper that a joint owner in a partnership (a de facto partnership formed by two consenting adults who know the risks when they have intercourse - heck if you can have an oral contract, why can't sex form a contract of sorts???) single-handedly decides to destroy the whole of said company? In court cases, the murder of a pregnant mother counts as double homicide... This is due to the fact that the mother (obviously) didn't consent to her baby being aborted by these means. Then why shouldn't the father's lack of consent in such a case make a mother's decision to abort comparable to single homicide? In both cases, the end result is the same (disregarding the will of a parent of an embryo, and terminating a pregnancy without consent from a parent...)

32 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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2 points

A father is as much of a parent to that baby as the mother. A decision on abortion should be made by both the father and the mother.

32 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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1 point  

YES he is part of the child too that woudn't be fair to him PERIOD.

30 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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1 point  

can someone tell me how either of these are ok?

I'm the father so i say that you aren't allowed to kill that thing that is living in your belly.

I'm the father so I say that you need to go have a miscarriage which may involve an invasive procedure.

And don't forget the definition of father here is that ONE cell from the "father's" body was used to create the babby.

54 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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1 point  

The major argument for abortion is that a woman may not be ready to take care of a child. Why should a man not have the same option?

53 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- curtix(30) Disputed
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0 points

That is not "The Major Argument for Abortion." Do not assume that it is. Different people will have different most important arguments. My personal most important argument is that there is something living inside of the mother and it should be her choice as to whether or not is allowed to do so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

53 days ago | Tagged As: No
Vote Up Vote Down
1 point  

The father should have nothing to do with the woman's decision of whether or not to have an abortion, just like he should not have the right to force one.

49 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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1 point  

That still does not answer my question. If he does not want the child and she does, why should he have any legal burden when it is born? Why should she have a way out and not him?

49 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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1 point  

Both parents will obviously (hopefully) be involved in the decision and the upbringing of the child, but when it boils down to it, the woman must bear the physical consequences/risks of bearing a child. And if the father decides to split, the woman is physically tied to her child. Not fair.

Besides, if fathers had the right to refuse abortions, there'd just be women asking friends to push them downstairs or kick them in the stomach or getting dangerous drugs....

45 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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2 points

I am talking legality. If there was legal terms in which the father could not 'split' as you call it, then why should she be allowed to say no? Secondly, having your embryo removed and placed in a surrogate mother, is no more intrusive than an abortion. Finally, you still have not answered the other scenario. What if he does NOT want the child. Why should she have a way out but doesn't? She should have to waive his legal liability to keep the child he does not want in the case that she is refusing to have an abortion. Its called equal rights. Somewhere along the way, the pendulum turned to far in favor of a woman. Now we are a long ways away from equality.

45 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
1 point  

No! most men today just want to love and leave you. Or if they stay with you cheat on you. They make conscious decisions to do things you disaprove of all day, how about having a woman make the decision in something wrong for once. Besides why didn't you guys talk about what your plans were before the pregnancy?

26 days ago | Tagged As: No
Vote Up Vote Down
1 point  

He can refuse it all he wants, if I dont want a baby, i'm not having a baby. If he wants a baby THAT badly, he can go adopt. But there is no way he is putting my body through 9 months of transformation, then 14 hours of pain, to bring a life into the world.

13 days ago | Tagged As: No
Vote Up Vote Down
0 points

If I was in this situation, I would definitely take the father's opinion into account, but it would be my body, so ultimately the decision would be mine. If I truly felt abortion was the best option, he could refuse it all he wanted, and it would still happen. It's not an ideal situation, but the termination of a pregnancy usually isn't.

To imagine a woman being denied an abortion just because her boyfriend/husband or whoever wanted to keep the baby strikes me as incredibly disturbing. It is essentially disregarding her wishes in favor of his and forcing her to continue a pregnancy she doesn't want, and that sounds like a nightmare to me.

54 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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5 points

Science has come a long way. It is possible to have a surrogate mother. What if he suggested the embryo be planted in someone else's body?

54 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- zombee(52) Disputed
Vote Up Vote Down
1 point  

If he suggests that and she agrees, great. But she still has the right to choose an abortion instead, no matter what he wants.

54 days ago | Tagged As: No
- joecavalry(8879) Supported
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5 points

Right. Because it is so much more preferable to kill a human embryo than to force a woman into a 9 month ordeal she could have prevented if she had just kept her legs closed ;)

Here's what it boils down to. A woman can be promiscuous without any consequences, none, zero, zip, nada. And all at the expense of someone else, the fetus. Nice.

This country is in such a mess because no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. It is always someone else's fault.

54 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- zombee(52) Disputed
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3 points

So essentially, a baby is well-deserved punishment for a woman daring to have sex? That's lovely.

I would to go into all the consequences 'promiscuous' women face, such as the example of slut-shaming you provided, but that is another argument. But not only promiscuous women get pregnant, surprisingly enough!

By current scientific definition, an embryo is not someone, it is something. Of course it has the potential to be a human being, but it isn't yet, in the same way an acorn is not an oak tree and the eggs in your fridge are not chicken.

53 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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3 points

So why should a father who wanted her to have the abortion, have to pay child support? If, on the flip side, he wanted the child and had no say? Its a double standard. Lose lose for the man.

54 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- zombee(52) Disputed
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1 point  

Again, it comes down to someone who is not experiencing a pregnancy trying to dictate how it ends.

In the case of a man paying child support on a child he didn't want, it does put these men in a potentially unfair situation but the other option is to have a lot of babies brought into the world to single mothers who can't fully support them. Not only does the mother suffer, but so does the child, who is no longer a couple of cells, but a fully recognized human being who shares no part of the blame in these cases. It is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils, and those situations are never perfect for anyone.

53 days ago | Tagged As: No
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0 points

Unless he is the one having the baby then go right on ahead

and he gets to choose!

BUT since thats not happening leave the decision up to the

woman who is having that kid,after all its her body = her decision

50 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
Vote Up Vote Down
2 points

Her decision affects him too! If she keeps the child, he must pay child support. If she does not, he loses a chance to be a father! I agree that if she does NOT want the abortion that he should not be able to force her. However, if he says he wants one and she says no, then he should be able to remove all responsibility after the child is born. After all, if she chooses to have the abortion, the result would be the same. Also, if she wants the abortion and he does not, he should have the option of finding a surrogate mother and remove her of all burden.

50 days ago | Tagged As: yes
- DevilDolly(12) Disputed
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1 point  

"Her decision affects him too!"-(it sure will!)

"If she keeps the child, he must pay child support."-(Yeah,thats what he gets since he dipped his penis into her vagina.)

"If she does not, he loses a chance to be a father!"-(well then he should go have babies with another woman!)

"I agree that if she does NOT want the abortion that he should not be able to force her."-(Hey!We're on the same page now!)

"However, if he says he wants one and she says no, then he should be able to remove all responsibility after the child is born."-("With Sperm,comes Responsibility")

"After all, if she chooses to have the abortion, the result would be the same."-(well her vagina probably wont look the same

but i dont think thats what you mean..)

"Also, if she wants the abortion and he does not, he should have the option of finding a surrogate mother and remove her of all burden".-(Thats a good idea no pun intended,but

then we fall back into our previous issue!The pregnant women

would have to decide that too!Oh no!)

45 days ago | Tagged As: No
Vote Up Vote Down
0 points

It is my belief that every person's body is their own property, and that each person has the right to do with him or herself whatever he or she desires regardless of the opinions of others. Having a man be able to dictate what a woman does with herself is a violation of her right to self. If men can tell women what to do with their pregnancies, why not tell them more? By that logic a man should be able to dictate whatever a woman does with herself.

49 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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1 point  

Nobody is suggesting a man should dictate what a woman do. Just that he should have some control over a child that he may or may not want. If she does not want the abortion even after he say he does not want the child fine. However, he should have not financial burden. If he says he wants the child and is willing to hold all financial burden even while she is pregnant, why should this not be an option. I take it one step further and say, he will find a surrogate mother and people still object. If a father has equal burden after the child is born, he should have some say.

46 days ago | Tagged As: yes
Vote Up Vote Down
-1 points

I think it should be a joint decision as much as possible, but in the end the burden and risk lays with the women and so therefore does the right to make the final decision.

34 days ago | Tagged As: No
- kamranw(92) Disputed
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2 points

The man has many risks tied to her decision as well. Such as, financial burden should she keep the child. Studies now suggest, a man will go through many of the same mental problems such as remourse and depression should she have the abortion.

33 days ago | Tagged As: yes
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