Last week in class we had a lot of discussions surrounding what choice really means. In labs we split into "couples" and discussed what our choices would be should we be pregnant right now...and we talked about how other people's input might make a difference in how we thought about our choices.
One thing we mentioned, but didn't spend a lot of time on, was the impact of the woman's partner's idea of what the choices mean....this article is written by a man whose girlfriend and mother both made the choice to have an abortion, and his thoughts, experiences, and ideas about the abortions themselves as well as how men's voices should or can be a part of the debate about choice.
What do you think, after reading this article, about the role that men have in the debate over choice?
Do you think that he raises valid points?
Is abortion just a woman's issue, or is it a human issue?
Given what we know about the problems of masculinity and fatherhood, how much credence do we give to men in the choices of teen mothers?
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Marilyn
Its really nice to know that men do care and they're not running away from the thought of abortion and the decisions that surround it. I think its really important for the "other half" of the baby to be included in the situation. I think abortion is a human issue, not just the woman's, but at the same time I don't think people should tell the woman what to do. There should be an educated decision made together, and if there isn't 100% agreement then another option should be looked into.
ReplyDeleteI think with the issue of teen parents, as a society we don't give credit where credit is due. When a teen dad wants nothing to do with the decision we judge him, but when he does we doubt his opinion saying he doesn't know what he's talking about. A father is a father no matter what age and has the right to know what is going on with their baby.
Maggie Anderson
(Section Friday 10am)
The activity we did when we split into “couples” was great. It was funny how many of the couples consisted of two girls, because majority of the class were girls. I think there were like 1 or 2 heterosexual couples. Anyway, we talked about choice. Majority of the couples in the class decided to keep their babies. 1 or 2 couples wanted to give the baby up for adoption and two couples decided to have an abortion (including me and my partner). It was interesting to see couples making decisions based on their different races, classes and genders. I thought it was going to be hard but it seemed pretty easy at least for our class. I assume it is a lot harder for other people, especially men. After reading the article I think Aaron Traister has a valid point. I think men should have a role in the decision making process of pregnancy and all other aspects of their children. Although it is a woman’s body and her body is her right, but the men and fathers are humans as well. They have feelings thoughts and concerns just like a woman do. So essentially abortion is just not a woman issue, it’s a man’s issue too. It’s sad that society already have a preconceived notion about men and fatherhood. Society thinks if men are in the kid’s life and they are supporting the kid then that’s good and that all they are supposed to do, when that is not all.
ReplyDeleteI wasnt there when we were divided into couples. I think it is interesting that the majority of the class chose to keep their babies because many are college students. I know some students in class have children and are a full time student but I think it would be even harder to have a second child. The girl on 16& pregnant chose to have an abortion for her second child because she was not financially stable. I honestly dont have an answer what I would have done if I was in that situaion of whether or not to have an abortion. I think it also depends on if the father and I are committed. Its not just my choice, Im a believer that men do have a say whether or not a baby is born or not.Though its up to the mother to go throuhg 9 months of pregnacy, I think women should hear what their baby daddy has to say. I agree its a womens body but I agree with my partner "men are human as well they have feelings, thoughts, and concerns." Aaron is right, I think men should have a role in the decision making.
ReplyDelete-Kara Ramsey
Reading the article, I was actually very surprised at the reaction he had after the incident. I think the points he raises are very valid. Everyone goes through life incidents that stay with them forever, they never forget. And for him, it was his Mother getting an abortion. I don't think the choice of getting an abortion or not should be completely up to the woman. It takes two to create an egg, so it should take two to decide on what the outcome should be. Abortion is definitely a human issue. Yes the pregnancy is physically affecting the woman, but after the child is born it is a man and a woman's responsibility to be parents to the new born. I don't think we give men enough credence at all in the decision of motherhood. We typically sterotype in these decisions. It's usually all up to the girl on what to do, when men always have something to say .
ReplyDelete-Breanna Russo