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From: jmm@cs.brown.EDU (Jim Meyers)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: Man's Responsibility
Message-ID: <78595@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jun 91 21:08:51 GMT
References: <1991Jun13.155237.12650@aero.org> <MUFFY.91Jun13102345@remarque.berkeley.edu> <1991Jun14.131823.10859@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Reply-To: Jim Meyers <jmm@cs.brown.EDU>
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
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In article <1991Jun14.131823.10859@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> newman@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Bill Newman) writes:
>
>As for the second part, Most People On Both Sides Of This Argument
>agree that the best way to avoid having children you don't want is to
>prevent conception.  However, accidents happen, and MPOBSOTA are
>willing to at least accept the policy that a pregnant woman has the
>right to decide whether to have an abortion.  This makes it impossible
>for the man who doesn't want children to do anything about it after
>birth control failure.  If you want the man who doesn't want children
>to do something about it, how do you propose modifying this policy?  I
>can imagine forced abortions, or perhaps a gubernatorial policy of
>pardons for men who are forced to kill their sex partners to avoid
>unwanted children.  I honestly can't think of a palatable policy.  Can
>you?

It's really not that complicated...

- The original purpose of sexual intercourse was to reproduce.
- Every method of birth control has a failure rate.
- The consequence of this failure is pregnancy.
- Thus, "recreational" sex has it's risks.
- Once a woman becomes pregnant, she should have to right to decide to
  do whatever she wants to with her body. (If you and your sex partner
  do not share the same opinion about the right to choose, then you
  shouldn't be having sex).
- If a child is born, then both parents are equally responsible for him/her.

If the man involved doesn't like the rules, then he shouldn't play the
game. Nobody should have the "right" to engage in sexual intercourse
as a purely recreational activity without assuming responsibility for
the consequences.

 ________________________________________________________________________
 Jim Meyers                 |                    |
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