If fathers were allowed to sign away their financial obligations?

Question

should there be a penalty fee? e.g. to help pay for costs of any abortion, woman's medical care/time off sick etc. and also to act as a deterrent? and should the state make it harder for single mothers (financially, to raise a child) so they are encouraged to use contraceptives / have abortions if they fall pregnant?

Answer 1

YESSSS to everything...its very maddening when young idiots out here having babies by every tom d**k and harry and expect me to spend my tax dollars on their housing and food etc...teach them a lesson...

Answer 2

Why should single mothers do community service. Maybe you should charge the dead beat husband or child's father. If you put a penalty fee on adoption then people would begin having babies and dumping them. If I get pregnant for my husband and he picks up with someone and leaves me after I'm 7 weeks pregnant then what??? Should I pay for his sins??? You people are really ridiculous. You don't know how people get into those positions so you shouldn't even think about those things. You people are the same ones who would say that all persons with AIDS/HIV are bad people when the person's cheating husband/wife brought it and gave their spouse.

I agree that some people do have children and they are in high school or they are ill-equipped t raise those children. But everyone cannot suffer for those idiots.

Answer 3

Well, they should *not* be allowed to have all the irresponsible s*x they want without facing the consequences.

I'm so sick of responses like Eoghan's that imply accidental pregnancies are a result of incompetence or poor judgment on the part of women only.   If she was operating independently, how the h**l did that sperm get to fertilize the egg?

If, as he states, women need to be taught accountability, then men need the same.  You know full well that every time you have intercourse the possibility exists that a pregnancy will result. The evolutionary drive to perpetuate the species is stronger than any means of contraception we have, and accidental pregnancies DO happen.  If you are not prepared to accept the consequences of your actions in sexual matters, then you need to abstain.   Quit dumping all the responsibility on women for an act that requires the participation of 2 parties.

Answer 4

Actually I think fathers are allowed to sign away their financial obligations...I mean if they give up their parental rights, I don't think they have to pay child support. Although I'm not entirely sure.

If a father wants to give up his parental rights I don't think there should be a penalty for it. I mean it's really no different than a woman getting an abortion or giving a baby up for adoption. Either way, the person is avoiding responsibility for their actions. She isn't penalized so why should he be?

As far as the state making it more difficult for single mothers to raise their children...I would say no, they should not. There are enough women getting abortions nowadays, why should the state encourage that to continue?

Answer 5

What do you mean if they were allowed to? And they already have not got the ability to do that? In the UK we had the Child Support Agency tasked to chase down absent fathers to make them support their children.  This costly organisation failed miserably, with millions of children having not received a penny of maintenance, and hundreds of thousands of women financially worse off because of it.  What did the government do? Show real committment to gender equality and make these men pay at source, after all GB is not huge they could not all be hiding! No, they simply said CSA failed close it!  

This idea that contraception is infallible is also risible.  Mankind has technologically advanced so much yet, we insist that the safest way to prevent pregnancy in otherwise healthy women is to pump them full of chemicals 24/7 to prevent them getting pregnant when on average we have s*x how many times in a week say? Other methods are not as reliable...and when in the 21st century is it all women's responsibility? Making it harder for single mothers????? How hard should it be, bring back workhouses? Please!!!

If women can't have total control over their fertility, the life changing experience of getting pregnant, if we can't control our own bodies and must always confer with some other person (a man) about how/when/why we should be pregnant what is the point of being alive and how could we ever claim to be equal/ or even show any autonomy?

Of course children need fathers, and naturally, women want men in their life to be productive, decent kind respectful parents, but not at the cost of women's basic rights.

Answer 6

If that were to occur; I believe the father would only be able to sign away his financial obligations to the child post birth (He is merely declining his rights as a father. He remains responsible for impregnating the woman, and as such is liable for his share of the medical costs incurred for her to deliver the child).

That would not include compensating her for taking time off work. Women are entirely capable of working well into 8 months of pregnancy.

Edit: Hebby: However, by allowing women sole rights as to whether or not the child is to be carried to term and born, or to be aborted, we have already accepted that the childs rights are secondary. So I don't see that as the issue here.

Answer 7

I would guess most women do use contraceptives and they fail.   It would probably increase the rate of STD's as some men don't think they can get  them and only use condoms for contraception. If they could just walk away more children would have to be on some type of government assistance.    

I don't think it would make any difference to teens. They don't think they can get pregnant or they do get pregnant on purpose cause they want to be together forever!

Answer 8

No, a father should not be able to sign away their financial or parental obligations. As for costs, the father should be required to contribute to the overall costs. Frankly, I do not believe abortion is ethical or appropriate save for a few situations; but that said, the father should be required to equally share costs with the mother.

As far as the State is concerned, it is in our business way too much already. Federal, State, and Local politics do not belong in the womb; and they certainly should not take a stand to limit an adult person's right to intercourse or procreation.

Our law's should be to protect ones rights, not limit them.

Answer 9

well in todays society its a fact that men can sign their rights away but so can women

and speaking from the childs perspective id rather the jerk signed away his rights than said  ok i will be a dad have the baby then he jumps ship on the family and spreads his seed down the road \or he stays in the childs life and is such a twerp you know never turning up when he says he will that he destroys the childs life anyway so sometimes its better to let them go before the baby comes along cx

Answer 10

If fathers were allowed to sign away their financial obligations, there will be less children born to single moms and girls trying to trap men into a relationship.

Women will actually have to take responsibility for their own bodies, contraception and responsibility for their own actions.  Wow!  That will never happen.

Answer 11

Making it financially harder for single mothers to raise children will ultimately hurt who? The mother who controls what little money there is or the child who is missing out on a lot of things through no fault of their own. Then what do you have? A very angry, poor next generation coming up with possibly even less opportunity than their mothers.

Most single mothers don't plan ahead so this is unlikely to deter them, having children for most isn't a part of a long term financial plan ... it's a lack of forward thinking or a breakdown of a relationship.

Encouraging the use of contraceptives is sensible, encouraging abortion not so much due to that being a much larger decision and one with more long term psychological and emotional ramifications.

Society as a whole needs to change from one where everyone does what they want only thinking about themselves and not looking towards the consequences of their actions.

Answer 12

I wouldn't have a problem with father's giving up rights to their children if both parents agreed and the mother would not ever have to rely on welfare to raise her child.  If the obligations of the children were waived, then all costs should be waived.  They don't have to pay for abortion, medical for the mother or anything anyway so I don't know how that falls into your question.

I think the state should make it harder to collect welfare in general.  I have no problem helping someone get back on their feet but I do have a problem with people raising families when they are already dependent on the government.  No mother with a child over the age of three should be able to collect welfare unless she is working.  Welfare benefits should go down if you are already on welfare and you decide to keep having kids.

Most pregnancies don't happen to people who are on birth control.  They happen to people who aren't.  When used correctly, most forms of birth control are 99% effective.

Answer 13

The sperm donor (I certainly don't see them as "fathers") can only sign away their financial obligations if someone else is willing to adopt the child as their own.

Sounds right to me.

Answer 14

we need to teach responsibility and accountability to women, we have provided NUMEROUS ways for you to control your reproductive system. why can't you use them properly?

discipline and rewards for good behaviour, that is what women need. that is why you are all asking your partners to show you a firm hand.

single mothers on welfare should do community service.

perhaps providing wifey type services to tax paying bachelors

school children should be encouraged to engage in the alternatives in the absence of contraception.

EDIT of course men would have to do it too, there won't be many as we have not presented having babies and collecting welfare and a valid lifestyle choice for men yet.

EDIT, don't be silly Sam, we=society and/or men.

Do I get best answer?

Answer 15

The Father of my Baby has NOT given any money towards her. and I have NOT asked for any. I will NEVER ask for any money from him or anyone. I am a tax payer also I work so that makes me a tax payer. I support my own child. and I work enough jobs to do it.

If the Father does NOT want to be a father then he should be able to sign away his rights. BUT then don't go around and complain about single mothers. and how high their d**n taxes are. it takes TWO to make a baby the last time I checked. as for abortions I will NOT touch that sorry. that's up to the people BUT BOTH should have a say in it.

Now you do know that there are times when a women is STUPID and WEAK and makes a mistake  ONE time in her life. he wanted me to abort i said NO. had her and I take care of her ALONE. I am NOT on welfare. and believe me I have been punished enough Thank you very much. Now i will shut up. God Bless

EDIT: Dave C I am NOT attacking you or anything but I would just like to say there are a LOT of single mothers out in the REAL world who has taken responsibility for their own actions and their own MISTAKES. and are making it on their own. without any handouts of any kind. so there are women who do take responsibility and are BETTER people for It I know I am a better person. again I am NOT attacking you. God Bless

EDIT: I know that you were talking about the ones on  welfare. but I just wanted to point out that a lot of mothers are not like that. I can't help myself i always want to let people know there are very good single mothers out there and I just feel we NEVER hear about the good ones only the ones who take and never give anything back. and make us ALL look bad. I should also point out there lots of great single fathers out there also. Have a Safe 4th everyone. God Bless

Answer 16

So by denying state help to the mother you think that that will deter girls from getting pregnant?  Check with I believe NJ and see if that worked.  They used to increase welfare payments to girls when they had another kid and stopped to stop giving the girls incentive to do it.  Haven't looked into seeing how it went.

How bout s*x ed instead of abstinence classes, birth control readily available for cheap or free and free or cheap daycare, education and job training for these single moms so they can help themselves and don't need to depend on the state to support them and the next generation that is taught that welfare is a viable way to support yourself?  Statislics show that s*x ed works so much better than just say no.  Pant, pant, one breath.

The welfare system has already been overhauled to cut back and hopefully eliminate the 'lifers' (Clinton era), state child support networks are starting to link together so he can't just move to another state to avoid and hook in with the federals so they can take his tax returns and stimulus check to pay for back support.  His license can be suspended and passports denied and revoked.

With all the resources out there in theory there is no excuse for an accidental and unwanted pregnancy. Unfortunately not all are allowed access because of the persistence of people and government to keep their children ignorant of s*x and the options in the vain hope of an outdated religious dogma.  All they accomplish is a rash of young, single mothers, irresponsible and immature fathers, grandparnets raising a second family and an increase in STDs in an age when that can mean a death sentence instead of just inconvenience.

In short don't penalize the girls, help them and help all the others that are in danger of becoming single mothers by educating them and arming them with the right tools.  The girls need to take charge and stopping being so passive.  The guys get to walk away whenever, she's stuck with the hard work.

Whoa!  Where'd this soap box come from?

Answer 17

Yes they should have to split the cost of the abortion if there is one.

I don't know about the second question, yes and no - some nations are having so much trouble with their birthrates that it might still not be a good idea.