The American Family was once the corner stone of our nation, but in recent years the number of children born out of wed lock has increased and the number of divorces has increased as well.  The nuclear family can no longer be defined as normal or even as a goal.  Young women are not marrying right out of high school and many wait until well after college is completed.  Feminism has been taken too far.  In the process we are punishing the American man for being a man.

A woman is given the right to chose to carry a child to full term or to abort the pregnancy.  The moral, social and other ethical issues surrounding abortion will be ignored and the focus will remain on the legal practice's effect on a Father.  Many states do not require a husband be notified when a wife wishes to terminate a pregnancy, due to doctor patient confidentiality laws.  Failure to notify a man of the possible termination of his child’s life completely denies a Father's right to raise his child and the right to “choose”.  The responsibility and choice of child rearing does not fall solely on the female in a relationship.  Creating a human life requires a male and a female act in unison, but he decision to cancel such activity falls strictly on the female.

Divorce proceedings also favor the female.  Custody is usually granted to the Mother with little regard for the Father.  Current legislation allows a woman to leave her husband, take his children and move across the country.  If joint custody is granted to the Father, proximity would then deny him the opportunity to play an active role in his children’s lives.  Despite the Father's inability to participate in the life of his children due to the relocation of the Mother, full child support and alimony payments are still required by law.

Feminism was a wonderful idea, which has been abused and paraded around for innumerable causes.  Women (myself included) must take equal responsibility for the choices one makes.  Prior to marriage, a woman is perfectly capable of supporting herself, working her way up the career ladder and changing the world any way she sees fit.  After a marriage ends, women expect support from the ex-spouse.  If women are truly equal to men, why is this compensation required?  Ladies expect equal pay for equal work, but expect men to continue to work to support themselves and their ex's after a marriage is dissolved.

Several states have statutes on the books requiring a man to pay child support for children fathered by someone else, if the man has taken on the primary role of Father in a child's life.  The intentions behind these laws were genuine, but society is creating disincentives for a man to marry or become involved with a mother.  As more women bare children out of wedlock, more men are dating women with children.  If the relationship progresses, a man may be concerned about his legal obligations to the children.  Such laws do not encourage a man to marry or become a Father. 

Women have been given all of the reproductive rights and fewer responsibilities.  Denying the Fathers the chance to participate to the fullest in the lives of their children and penalizing men for trying, is only furthering the breakdown of the American family. 

But no one listens to me

-Patriotic Progeny

Posted: 08/12/07