[_b8r0]

Certainly in the west, I think there's a world of difference between now and say 10-15 years ago. Within that timeframe of porn ubiquity (although I'm implying correlation not causation here) there's been massive changes in womens' rights and dealing with deadbeat dads, to the point where women can put themselves in a bad situation by getting pregnant, but can also put men in a bad situation too.

At the same time the rights of men have not changed with this, and in many legal systems there's an imbalance (e.g. the father has to make payments but does not have the same rights of access, that there are female DV shelters, but there's nothing I'm aware of in the UK for male DV victims, which is more common than you think).

I'm not saying this applies to all people in all cases, but just as the biological skew against women exist, there's a counter skew on the legal and societal side against men (for various values of $legal_system and $society).

[Nobido]

I don't think it needs to have anything to do with deadbeat dads or the possibility of raising a child alone. Pregnancy is and will always be different for the woman. For one, she has to actually be pregnant for nine months and deal with the sickness and pains that brings. Then she actually has to give birth. Getting pregnant when you are not ready is a terrifying and a loss of your life and plans as you know them. Yes, when you have the baby you adjust and are happy for it and yes in the future you can pick up your career again and try to juggle both. But when you are not wanting a kid yet, it's hard to think about it that way. And abortion is not exactly an enjoyable alternative either.

[Nobido]

I should add also though that if she does mean pregnancy, she is wrong. I would say AIDS pretty much leveled the playing field as far as sexual risk goes. Definitely scarier than giving birth.