Spain just passed a very restrictive abortion law. I am against this law.  I am mainly in favor of sex ed, using contraceptives especially condoms which prevent unwanted pregnancies and HIV infection, but should everything else fails I am in favor of abortion.

Now while I am in favor of choice I am in favor of true parental choice.  I am for the rights of women to choose to end the pregnancy.  But in the case of married or established couples, I am also in favor of fathers having a say in this decision.  In laws around the world, freedom to abort focuses exclusively on the mother.  The father has no power to stop an abortion. It is only the woman’s decision to abort or not. But in the case of married couples or established couples  (as opposed to one night stands, accidental pregnancies or casual relationships) I think this is wrong. If the husband does want the child, I am not sure that the wife alone should have the right to abort. Because when the opposite happens and the woman decides not to abort then according to most countries’ laws the father can be forced to support that child and be an active parent. And this even includes not only married or established relationships but casual or accidental relationships as well.

So as things stand now, an abortion is only a woman’s decision, but a decision not to abort forces a father to be responsible for the child. That seems unbalanced to me. Just like a father cannot force an abortion on the mother the mother should not be able to force an abortion on the father in an established relationship.  Either parent should be able to stop an abortion. This is not about the questionable rights of an early stage embryo, this is about the established rights of both parents.