Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by sacrosancty 1548 days ago
Not exactly. Women have the power to choose abortion but men don't. Men however are liable for financially supporting the child. The greater risk is with the man.

There are a lot of men who would love to have the confidence of not having to trust every woman he sleeps with. "Stealing" babies from men and the fear of that is real.
3 comments
klyrs 1548 days ago
> Women have the power to choose abortion but men don't.

Not exactly. Abortion is criminalized in multiple states now. In other states, the father needs to be identified and consent to the abortion. It's also stigmatized and many women don't have a free choice in the matter -- in some religious communities, a woman who seeks an abortion does so at the risk of excommunication, disowning or even beatings/murder.

link
FalconSensei 1548 days ago
Exactly. Of course, depending on country/state, the regulations vary. But at least here in Canada, if birth control fails, the woman can get an abortion. What happens is that often they don't, but you can't say the option is not there. (again: depending on local regulations, but assuming you are somewhere with this option)
link
0xdeadb00f 1548 days ago
> Not exactly. Women have the power to choose abortion but men don't. Men however are liable for financially supporting the child. The greater risk is with the man.

I find brushing off abortion like this a tad ridiculous. Sure one could say the 'risk' is greater. But abortion carries with it emotional, and physical trauma, not to mention a lot of women are still met with shameful looks in today's society for doing so. It isn't an easy process, and I think comparing it with financial liability like this is a bit.. "Insensitive", I think the word is.

Even still, some women are not comfortable with abortion. And in that case they will be taking a greater risk.

Like I see what you're saying, but I don't think the comparison between abortion and financial liability is something we should be doing.

link
sacrosancty 1548 days ago
That financial liability is 18 years of paying some double-digit percentage of your income to somebody that could be a almost a stranger for nothing in return. All those hours of work wasted is huge, so is the emotional toll of being cheated in such a large scale.

Abortion as soon as you discover you're pregnant is just a pill and quite easy.

link
subsaharancoder 1547 days ago
> Abortion as soon as you discover you're pregnant is just a pill and quite easy.

You mean the intentional killing of a human being is "easy", I read this and I know society is doomed.

link
throwaway304925 1547 days ago
Mifepristone (the abortion pill) only works up to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. All scientific evidence suggests the nervous system is not developed enough to experience anything resembling consciousness or to feel pain until 20 weeks at the earliest. Before that point, the fetus is just a cluster of cells. Brains are what make us human.
link
subsaharancoder 1538 days ago
> All scientific evidence suggests the nervous system is not developed enough to experience anything resembling consciousness or to feel pain until 20 weeks at the earliest.

Bold claim with no data to back it up and yet a cursory search on Google shows how false your claim is:

1. https://flo.health/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/fetal-developm.... 2. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/fetal-development/fet...

Is feeling pain or being conscience the standard upon which we determine the worth of someones life? If yes then please head over to your nearest hospital and pull the plug on all the comatose patients.

link
scotty79 1547 days ago
Nobody is required by law to sustain life of another human by making internals of your body available and risking your health and/or life.

Except for pregnant women.

link
mtizim 1547 days ago
We've been killing each other for thousands of years for far more trivial reasons than getting 18 years of financial obligations.
link
subsaharancoder 1538 days ago
>We've been killing each other for thousands of years for far more trivial reasons than getting 18 years of financial obligations.

Yes we have, and the repercussions of those acts are still being felt to this day with calls for justice, reducing human worth to purely a "financial obligation" to be avoided at all costs makes us lower than beasts roaming the Serengeti

link