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I cannot state that all men do what I have done, but I can state with certainty that their actions were ones that they chose to engage in. Men have choices.
Not quite correct. The male may have chosen to engage in sex, but as has been pointed out time and again this does not mean he has chosen to engage in the creation of a baby. Neither has the woman. Even you have argued in this very thread that conception does not produce a child until it is born.
Life offers choices, true. I can opt for chocolate or vanilla ice cream; I can live in New York or Los Angeles. Such choices often result in unexpected consequences like food poisoning, getting mugged in Central Park, or car-jacked in Hollywood. I did not CHOOSE to be poisoned, mugged, or car-jacked simply because I chose to eat ice cream or live in one of those cities.
Somehow, under your logic, a man has no obligations and responsibilities until the child is actually born. Then suddenly he is fully obligated simply because he had sex with a woman, even if he used contraceptives which clearly indicated he had NO intention of having a child. Even if he was no longer involved with the woman and thus unaware, suddenly she can present him with a child and demand he take full responsibility.
When you've talked about the "law requires" you are making a fallacious appeal to the consequence, because LAW can be changed. When you state "there is a child' you are making an appeal to emotion; ignoring many instances where children are raised and fully supported by a single parent alone. When you state he must accept responsibility simply by having sex, you are merely affirming the consequent; i.e. If he has sex he might have a baby, he has sex; therefore he agrees to having a baby.
All fallacies and none address the issue.
And I focus on child support because that was the issue your OP focused on
I repeat, incorrect. That is what YOU think the focus is on, primarily because it is the most obvious concern men have when dealing with a unwanted child. It is not the ONLY concern as my OP pointed out:
In the alternative, should he be granted relief from all legal responsibility if it is his clearly stated wish to abort but the woman decides not to?
The dilemma occurs when the woman unilaterally decides to have the baby, even when the male does not wish to accept that long-term responsibility.
When a woman makes the unilateral decision to keep the baby this then compels lifelong legal and emotional obligations on the part of the unwilling father. This creates resentment and recriminations in both parties. By attempting to force the man to marry and/or support both her and the child this only serves to create a negative environment for all concerned, especially for any child to grow up in.
It is not only the child support issue, it is all the emotional and legal baggage that comes with it; as well as all the other emotional and personal responsibility that comes with dealing with the existence of ones child.
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