Has anyone ever noticed how, when it comes to the legal side of being a parent, the guys get the short end of the stick? Every decision can be made only by the woman - abortion, adoption, motherhood. I would never advocate men forcing women to get abortions, but why is it that if the woman wants to keep the waif and the man doesn't, her word trumps his? I can understand her word being law when the zygote/fetus is still in her uterus since at that time it is a part of her body. But when it's born, I think both parents should have equal rights. If one wants the kid and the other doesn't, why can't the parent that wants nothing to do with the child terminate their parental rights and not be required to pay child support?

My thought is if Mommy feels she alone can make the decision to keep a child, even knowing the father doesn't want the child, then clearly she must feel she can handle the responsibility of two parents all by herself. This would indicate to me that she could be a parent without the contents of the disapproving parent's wallet. I know some guys can get exempt from child support payments, but it's only in cases of neglect, abuse, inability to pay (unemployment, etc.) or if the kid is in the system. But what about your average joe who just had a condom break? Why is it right for him to get screwed over?

I know it takes two to make a baby, but when one parent has the ability to make the official decision regardless of the other parent's wishes, I think the man should be able to cop out. Just like if the woman wants to give the kid away and the father wants to keep it, is it not true that the mother can override his choice and put the child in the system anyway?

And let's not even talk about women who have children as the result of affairs and, since paternity gets assumed, the husband (who is not the biological father) is still forced to pay child support. Or the women who will poke holes in condoms or suck the semen out of used condoms and impregnate themselves with it. They are a whole other issue, and the guys will still get screwed over.

I think we are taking a step in the right direction with the development of male contraception, and I think doctors should not be so reluctant to sterilize men seeking vasectomies (maybe Dr. McQuack would be more willing to perform the surgery with the promise of all child support demands of any children resulting from refusal of the patient's request be forwarded to his office).

Thoughts? Considering my stance on children, I would be bloody terrified to be intimate with a woman if I were a guy.