2012 U.S. Presidential Election

[Gavin Luper]

Abortion is such a weird issue. I could never justify forcing someone to bring up a foetus they did not wish to conceive (e.g. by rape), and therefore support the right to abortion in essence and in law, but the idea of killing an unborn child is nonetheless abhorrent. It sucks. Also, do men have any rights in regards to their unborn children? It seems not. It's an interesting topic.

I.e. If I hypothetically get my girlfriend pregnant, she has the last word on what happens to my unborn child and I have approximately zero say in the matter.

And this strikes me as doubly problematic because, if my hypothetical girlfriend keeps the baby, I am then, as a male, liable for eighteen years of child support payments. And yet I have no say. Something is fucked up here but I'm not sure what the solution is.

[Oslo]

Abortion is such a weird issue. I could never justify forcing someone to bring up a foetus they did not wish to conceive (e.g. by rape), and therefore support the right to abortion in essence and in law, but the idea of killing an unborn child is nonetheless abhorrent. It sucks. Also, do men have any rights in regards to their unborn children? It seems not. It's an interesting topic.

I.e. If I hypothetically get my girlfriend pregnant, she has the last word on what happens to my unborn child and I have approximately zero say in the matter.

And this strikes me as doubly problematic because, if my hypothetical girlfriend keeps the baby, I am then, as a male, liable for eighteen years of child support payments. And yet I have no say. Something is fucked up here but I'm not sure what the solution is.

You're right that the male is shut out from the decision, but I can't imagine there's any feasible way to strike a compromise here. If the father wants to abort the pregnancy but the mother does not, it's not like either side could "give a little" on the issue. The father may not want to pay child support (just as he may not want to shoulder the various psychological/emotional/social burdens that often attend fatherhood), but a woman's right to exercise agency over her own body without fear of criminal punishment should take precedence. There should be no state management of female bodies. Since only one side can really have say, it should be the woman's right to choose regardless of whether the pregnancy resulted from rape.

(Lol @ digression.)

[Dark Sage]

You notice that the same people who oppose abortion also tend to oppose sex education in public schools?

Kinda ironic, isn't it?