America


ABORTION IN AMERICA:


The Forgotten Rights of Fathers


Most believe a dad’s financial responsibility begins at conception, but his voice is seldom heard.


T BY CARRIE SHEFFIELD


oday’s abortion debate centers almost exclusively on mother and child. In the view of many


pro-life activists, fathers’ rights and responsibilities are too often side- lined.


This is contrary to the will of the American people and — for these pro-life activists — common sense, which tells them that a child in utero deserves the same child support from fathers as after birth. Polling of 1,000 registered U.S.


voters in mid-January by Scott Ras- mussen showed 78% believed that, immediately at conception, a father is fi nancially responsible for his unborn child. Additionally, 69% said “when a


man gets a woman pregnant, he is already a father with responsibilities to both the mother and child.” Additionally, 64% said the father


of a child must be notifi ed before an abortion; 71% say parents of a teenager must be notifi ed before she has an abortion; and 65% said there


26 NEWSMAX | MAY 2023


should be a three-day waiting period for a woman considering an abortion. “The pro-choice mantra ‘no


uterus, no opinion’ is well known, and the underlying premise of the slogan speaks to a genuine diff er- ence between how men and women approach this issue,” says the trailer for Fathers, a forthcoming documen- tary written and produced by Lia Milousis, a 26-year-old human rights attorney. Milousis explores the legal, politi-


Women choosing abortion oſt en report they do not feel supported by their child’s father; sometimes they report they are coerced or pressured into an abortion by a male partner.


cal, social, and moral involvement of men with abortion. Her journey grapples with ques-


tions such as: What is the impact of framing abortion exclusively as a women’s rights issue? How does this aff ect women and men alike? And is there a better way to navi-


gate and frame the abortion debate, one that makes space for the voices of the fathers? “Women are intimately and


uniquely aff ected by abortion, both as a procedure and as a legal issue,” the producers write. “But men and abortion are also connected. It is not possible to tell the story of abortion anywhere in the world without tell- ing the stories of the men involved, whether in creating the demand or in regulating the act.” Women choosing abortion often


report they do not feel supported by their child’s father; sometimes they report they are coerced or pressured into an abortion by a male partner. More than 60% of women who had


abortions reported high levels of pres- sure to abort from one or more sourc- es, and those same women indicated higher levels of accompanying men- tal health and quality-of-life issues, according to a Lozier Institute peer-


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