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It's An Abortion, Not a Tomato

Abortion and Compulsory Child Support
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by Jason Roth

If a woman and a man invest in a tomato plant, and they both take care of the plant, do you think they both have a right to the fruits of that plant?

Now, what if the man gives the woman some tomato seeds as a gift (perhaps the act of giving her the seeds was an enjoyable experience) and she plants the seeds, waters them, and manages to grow a plant from the those seeds? Would the man then have a right to a tomato?

More importantly, what if the man gives the woman the seeds, she grows a whole shitload of tomatoes, then decides to throw them against the side of her house like some kind of raving lunatic? Does the guy have the right to get a legal injunction against her, simply because he gave the woman his seeds?

Most importantly of all (please bear with me for one last, inane analogy), what if the woman harvests all these goddamn tomatoes with some poor slob's seeds even though he asked her not to grow any tomatoes after he gave her the seeds, and now she needs to buy a wheelbarrow to carry all the tomatoes? Does the guy need to pay "wheelbarrow support"?

By now, I've either chased you away, or enticed you in some bizarre way to continue reading. Hey, it's your brain, your choice.

What prompted me to write this was a recent story about a sperm donor who was ordered by a judge to pay child support. After reacting with a comment along the lines of "You gotta be fucking kidding me?" I decided to think through rationally my arguments against this.

When a woman gets pregnant, it's "her body", right? This is the primary argument for the right to abortion. In other words, the clump of cells residing in her body is not somehow co-owned by her and the guy she slept with. To all intents and purposes, the guy made a sperm donation. Notwithstanding a contract to the contrary, the sperm was a gift, not a loan.

Which is why, when the time comes to decide whether to abort, it is the woman's decision alone. But what if she decides not to abort? What are the man's responsibilities if the woman decides to carry the fetus to term?

I don't know many people who have asked the naked person on top of them to sign on a dotted line, though it's not a bad idea to discuss the possibility of pregnancy beforehand. Whatever the case, here are the possibilities that I can think of that exist before sexual intercourse takes place:

1. The guy promises to support a baby if the woman gets pregnant and chooses to carry it to term.

2. The guy tells the woman that he'd rather windsurf head first into a aircraft carrier rather than raise a kid or pay for it.

3. No discussion takes place.

4. No discussion takes place, but the woman reveals in conversation that she either (a) is against abortion on principle or (b) would definitely get an abortion if she got pregnant.

Absent of a specific written or oral agreement, the woman may make any decision she chooses without repercussion. (She always retains the right to have the baby or to abort, but doing so may violate a prior agreement which may or may not have consequences. For example, a "surrogate mother" who changes her mind should legally be required to pay damages.)

So if it's the woman's decision, what is the man's responsibility?

If he agreed to support the baby, either before conception or before birth, then he has the responsibility to financial support it (50% unless otherwise discussed).

If the woman told him she is against abortion and he had sex with her anyway (and assuming she didn't unduly fuck with the condom), then he played Russian Roulette and deserves to take the consequences. He owes support.

If the woman told him she would definitely get an abortion, then legally he has no responsibility whatsoever. (Though he might owe her a few bucks for an abortion if their discussion had been that explicit.)

If the guy had said he did not want a baby before they had sex, then again he has no legal responsibility.

Finally, if no discussion took place about whether the man or woman wanted to have a baby, the rational assumption (the implied contract) is that the woman would have an abortion. Unless two people are specifically trying to have a baby (in which case some discussion would have taken place), the assumption must be that they are having sex for pleasure and not to procreate.

Yes, what I wrote above is what should be, not what is. So I wouldn't go pretending you're some kind of Johnny Appleseed and go spreading your seed all over the fucking countryside. (That's my version of a legal disclaimer.)

In a free country, contracts are supposed to be entered into voluntarily. If the father did not agree to support a baby, he should not legally be required to support it. Simple, right? It's a woman's body, which is why she can decide to allow the clump of cells to develop into a baby or not. It's her choice to (a) have sex in the first place and risk getting pregnant, and (b) have the abortion or not.

If she chooses "not", then she needs to have some means of supporting the baby. One good way that humanity has discovered is having a father around. Even better, a father with a job. Given that raising a kid is a bit pricier than an abortion, it makes sense to maybe get some buy-in by the guy who knocked her up before he turns into a father. But if he doesn't buy in, then it's her choice and her responsibility to provide the support her baby needs.

Why would the father owe a dime in child support if the woman chooses to have a baby against his wishes?

He doesn't - for the same reason he has zero say about whether she gets an abortion or not. Because it's the woman's body and the woman's decision.

In this age of advanced medical technology (not including the field of back pain, which these fucking quacks can't seem to do a thing about), the moment of choice to have a baby or not has shifted from before sexual intercourse to afterwards.

There is no longer a compulsion for a pregnant woman to give birth. She has a very clear choice. She needs to take responsibility for that choice. Hopefully (for the baby and for her) she'll have someone who loves her to help regardless of what she decides.

If she and the father agree to have the baby, it's their baby. If she has it without his consent, it's hers.

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