This man's arrogance astounds me. His girlfriend didn't think she could get pregnant, so she certainly wasn't planning for that part of her life, either. The idea that a man can opt out of caring for a child, just because he wasn't planning to have it, is one of the most astonishing, ridiculous things I've ever heard in my life. What about his female partner? Is she allowed to opt out of the child's life and dump all the responsibility on the man? It would only be fair, by this man's reasoning.

One of the bummers about an unplanned pregnancy is just that, it's unplanned. You aren't ready for it & may not be in a place in your life where you want to become a parent. But, that's one of the consequences you have to face up to if you're sexually active. If you're really that worried about getting a girl pregnant and you absolutely don't want to have to worry about an unplanned pregnancy, don't have sex. I dated a man like this. He was so horrified about getting grils pregnant that he wouldn't have sex with me. So, he cultivated other skills, and we did those things and had a great time of it. But, unless this is a path you're willing to follow, you gotta suck it up and face the consequences.

I can only assume that this man isn't asserting any parental rights or trying to have any part in the kid's life. But, what if he is? Or, what if he changes his mind in 5 years & decides he wants to be active as the child's father? How do you explain to your son/daughter that you brought a lawsuit against mom so that you wouldn't have to pay child support b/c you didn't want the baby in the first place.

men get stiffed for wanting sex.

why did she change her mind? obviously if the law made sure men get a fair break, the woman would have had to adjust her behavior and abort or else absolve him of fatherhood.

but we indulge women's whims, even at the expense of men.

fk feminism forever if this is the breaks fathers get. we all get to be punished for the behavior of a few bad irresponsible men.

what if women all got punished for the behavior of the worst few women? you know, the ones who have multiple abortions? maybe abortion ought to be outlawed since SOME women use it as birth control.

well, we finally have ONE male in the United States with the balls to face the Vaginocracy and its Legislative Toadies. more are coming, you can count on it.

<< His girlfriend didn't think she could get pregnant, so she certainly wasn't planning for that part of her life, either >>

Either she lied to him about not being able to get pregnant, or else she was given wrong information by a doc who told her she was infertile.

accident happen.

but women and only women get to decide if the father suffers for life due to a mistake.

but women need to begin to take responsibility for their decisions because it took TWO to make the baby.

...when Left and Right can't admit that sex has consequences. Both sides are completely (pardon the pun) fucked when they fail to acknowledge human sexuality as well as all the responsibility that accompanies human relations, let alone sexual relations.

Teach self-respect to your children and practice personal responsibility in all your relationships no matter what your political leanings and you'll soon find the world a much better place to live.

In the meantime, learn to masturbate.

!

I think men should be able to opt out of support. I do not believe that a man can tell a woman to have or not have an abortion, so, in fairness if she decides the have the child she should do so acknowledging his objections and accepting sole responsibility for her decision. Unless, of course, you want men to have equal say in the abortion decision. Anyway, this isn't the old days. A woman is capable of handling a child by herself. Also, if the child is a burden on the state, that is the woman's fault for deciding to have a child without properly preparing her self and assuming she would have assistance.

The right to child support belongs to the child, not to the mother who bore him/her. Neither parent should not be able to sign away the rights of another person (i.e. their kid) for any reason, least of all convenience.

Unequal? You bet, but that's biology for you. Until men have wombs, that's the breaks.

I'm not sure what lessons anyone can or should derive from this other than the obvious "don't have unprotected sex with someone you suspect might try to use you for your sperm or with whom you are not in 100% agreement re consequences of an unintended pregnancy."

Things like this make me angry on a number of levels, but mostly this just makes me very very sad. I'm pretty far from the baby-fever type of person, but I can't imagine knowing that a child was my own and not instantly wanting the best of everything -- emotionally *and* financially -- for that little person. People are so detached from the realities of being human, it just astonishes me daily.

Everyone but BS got a special star. He must feel (even more) unloved.

A man doesn't have the choice not to have sex if he doesn't want a child? Or to wear a condom? Or get a vasectomy? If you don't want a child don't have sex. If you want sex but not a child, do EVERYTHING within your power to take precautions. Talk to your partner about what will happen if an "accident" occurs--if they say they wouldn't consider adoption or abortion then find another partner. Take responsibility for your own birth control--just because you aren't the one getting fertilized doesn't mean you can't get pregnant. And when a mistake does happen for God's sake be an adult..it's not the child's fault.

It's a simple case of greater good versus individual self-interest. Greater good wins.

I don't care whether a man is misled, trapped, lied to... if willingly engages in an act that produces a child, he's responsible for that child. The common sense rule, which I learned years ago, is you don't gamble unless you're willing to face the loss.

And taking a person's word that they're sterile and having unprotected sex with them anyway is a gamble. Next thing you know someone will be (probably already has) suing condom makers because they got pregnant. If the best technology society can produce leaves room for error, how in the hell does someone assume a partner's word is 100% solid?

Creating a human life, through conscious intent or through an accident of stupidity or ignorance, is a responsibility

As for DimBulb - the woman-hating idiot who continually posts inflamatory nonsense - I'm continually amazed that his stupidity is so unfailingly dismissed and disregarded by the general posters at Salon. I applaud the maturity that spotlights his lack of intelligence.