Should a husband's approval be required to for an abortion?

Question

Should his approval be required?

Answer 1

I agree with BratRich on this.

If it was planned then yes. The husband should have a say.

But as far as unplanned pregnancies go, it should be completely up to the woman. But the husband should be able to speak to her about it.

Answer 2

definitely. It both persons decision, not just one.

Answer 3

If the shoe were on the other foot, I would hate to think my partner could terminate our child with no consideration to my wishes.  

Answer 4

Approval no- should they discuss the issue of course.   The only problem might be if its not exactly his child.  

Answer 5

In a planned pregnancy It must be.

In accidental or unplanned he must be informed and should have a chance at talking to his wife with a 3rd party presence.  

Answer 6

As long as it wasn't rape. As long as it wont be a risk to the mother's health. I think the father should have just as much say. On another note if the mother don't want it she should have to sign over her rights to the father. It is just as much his child. Yes I am a female.

Answer 7

No, in a perfect world one would hope that a married couple would agree before the wife had an abortion.

At the end of the day it is the woman who has to carry the child and in the vast majority of cases be the primary carer, so the final decision has to rest with her.

If approval had to be obtained husbands would be able to force their wives to carry and give birth to children they did not want and this would take away the womans basic rights over her own body.  I can imagine little worse than being forced to carry a child I did not want and surely you can see how this right could be seriously abused by some?

Answer 8

That's actually up to the mother to be; it's her body after all.

Answer 9

Provided the husband is also the father, he should get an equal say. Unless the mother's life is in danger, if one of the parents wants to have the baby, they should not abort.  

Answer 10

yeah i think he should have at least input in the final decision.  

Answer 11

NO!

A) Who said it was his child?

B) She may need it for medical reasons

C) It's her body, not his, he can go have a child with someone else if he wants to, a surrogate even

D) Sounds like a male power play to me. She has to give birth because he wants her too? That's terrible. What if they're separated? Or he's abusive? What if he raped her?

E) You pro-lifers, that's a slippery slope. What's next, she needs his consent to KEEP the child?

Answer 12

in the situation of husband and wife....it wouldn't be much of a relationship if she didnt talk to him about it.

Answer 13

Abortion shouldn't be legal at all.. it's murder

www.abort73.com

Answer 14

h**l no...it is the womens right..she has control over her own body....If her husband wants a child and she doesn't..the husband is out of luck..nothing much he can do...that little fetus would be out the first thing smoking.....

Answer 15

well, thats an interesting theory, but it could never be enforced. Ultimately whether its right or not, the woman will always have control over what can and can't thrive in her own body.  

Answer 16

Yes, if not.. could he terminate the pregnancy without her consent?

Also, it is not comparable to a vasectomy. A vasectomy prevents pregnancy, it doesn't end it.

Answer 17

i dont think so.. its her body and it should be her decision  

Answer 18

No.

Obviously they should discuss it, but APPROVAL implies that if she wants an abortion he must give FINAL SAY over whether she has one or not. Meaning that HE ultimately decides what she does...get an abortion, or carry the child to term even if she doesn't want to. The woman must have the final say. If the couple disagrees, it is ultimately up to her....any other arrangement would give the man dominion over the woman's body, and that is a violation of human rights.

Answer 19

No.

That would be like a man having to get his wife's approval before getting a vasectomy. After all, this procedure would prevent him from having children. It would be nice, sure, for him to talk to his wife before doing such a thing, but in the end it's his body to do with what he wants.

The same goes for abortion.

Answer 20

Well, you have to put yourself in his shoes. The child is half his after all.  

Answer 21

What if he wants the abortion and she doesn't?

Answer 22

No! If a woman is not telling her husband that she's terminating her pregnancy, there's usually a pretty damned good reason for it. I know we all like to think that if you're married to someone that you have similar values and would come to the same conclusion regarding whether or not to terminate a pregnancy,and I know that if I ever became pregnant I could approach my partner and he would be supportive of my decision, but that isn't always the case. One of the ways that abusive husbands (or boyfriends) will keep their wives close to them is to sabotage their birth control. If the woman is pregnant, she won't leave him is what goes through the abusers mind. Something like 1 in 4 teenage girls in abusive relationships have had their birth control sabotaged by their boyfriends. Not only that, but there's the entire issue with marital rape. If a woman is not consenting to have s*x with her husband and he forces s*x on her, should she be forced to carry that child to term?

We cannot make the dangerous assumption that everyone who is married/in a committed relationship has a happy relationship and can easily talk to their partner about a pregnancy. It just isn't the case a lot of the time.  

Answer 23

Nope.

Answer 24

No, of course not. What a silly question. She isn't his property and she isn't a baby making machine. Next you'll be wanting to make marital rape legal again.

Only an abusive man would even consider forcing a woman to have a child.

Answer 25

If it's a planned pregnancy, then yes. If not, then no, but he should be able to talk with her about it.

Answer 26

Absolutely,  the husband's approval should be required whether the child was sired by him or someone else because without a DNA test, the father cannot tell whether the child is his or not.  While I can understand the fact that it is the woman who has control over her body, one has to also understand that copulation took place by mutual consent which makes the husband part of the decision in determining whether an abortion is warranted.  

Answer 27

Yes.  Abuse cases are exceptions.  This is always a very tough call.  The individual situations are so diverse, it is impossible to give any absolute answer.

For the religiously inclined...this is between the woman and God.  People are not suppose to judge each other.

Answer 28

Of course. Why wouldn't a wife want to tell her husband. Isn't this the person she has decided to spend her entire life with.  

Answer 29

Obviously.

.. you are talking about a society of "Equal Rights" correct?

Answer 30

No,shes the one carrying the child, not him.

Anyway, women should have more sense then to date control-freaks.

I agree with Sam, only abusive men would force a women to have a child, or have an abortion.