Reproduction Laws: Have Silenced a Man’s Voice Since 1550 BC

A man’s voice has been silenced when it comes to making a decision on whether a woman should have an abortion. It is not fair and the choice should 50/50.

Since the 1550 BC, woman have been practicing abortion. It started in Ebers Papyrus as women would use a plant-fiber tampon. This tampon contained honey and crushed dates. Even at the time frame it was still a woman’s decision to abort.
It was not until the eleventh century that a man’s decision was respected. “The earliest legal ban on abortion dates from the 11th-century BCE Code of Assura and imposes the death penalty on married women who procure abortions without the permission of their husbands.” (Thought.Co). This was the only voice a man was given when it came to an abortion. The decision was only 50/50 when the female was married. If she was not married to the male then the decision became hers. So it was never a concrete decision on whether the male had a decision on the abortion. It seems that only if they were married then the male had a voice but if not he had to keep his mouth shut.
This decision in the United States was never applicable. As the father’s consent is not legally required for the mother to have an abortion. Here in the United States, the father’s rights and decision are secondary. The mother’s decision are primary and is she chooses to have an abortion, she will have an abortion. No matter how long or bad, men bitch and moan. “In Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, the Court reasoned that a husband’s refusal to consent would in effect veto a woman’s choice to terminate a pregnancy. While both prospective fathers and pregnant women have an interest in the decision, when the two disagree, only one partner’s position can prevail. According to the Court, since the woman actually carries the pregnancy, “the balance weighs in her favor,” preventing the husband from vetoing her choice.” (Father’s Rights and Abortion). The men’s voices were heard but once again they were silenced because no matter what, the woman has the ultimate answer in the decision. Even when the couple are married, if the woman says she wants an abortion there is nothing the man can do. He can try to persuade her outside of court and try to make her see eye to eye with him but in the end , she still makes the decision. Some laws are created to make it seem as the male has power in the decision but ultimately his decision literally is not shit. It is just not fair because the female’s decision to have an abortion is completely hers, but a male has to still pay child support whether he wanted the child or not. Men have always thought of this as a double standard in family planning. Men believe it is not fair because if the female wants an abortion without the father’s consent then she will have one but, the male still has to pay child support with or without their consent.
The men contribute more than just sperm to a woman’s pregnancy. “A study in mice has revealed that more frequent exposure to seminal fluid increases levels of a type of immune cell called a regulatory T cell, which has already been shown to play a key role in helping the mother’s immune system tolerate the fetus.”(ABC Science). This is the same in humans, the sperm cell contributes to the mother’s immune system to help with the growth of the embryo. The process of pregnancy is a 50/50 process, as the male and female both contribute. Without one another, life could not be created. So why is it only the woman’s decision to keep the child and not a shared decision with the father. Every woman’s argument is that she has to nurture the fetus in her body for nine months, well if it was not for the male’s sperm and regulatory T cell, then the mother’s will not have a child to abort in the first place. The way a sperm cell contributes to the embryo, is the same way a female contributes to the pregnancy. It is a shared process, not one is needed more than the other but it seems clear that woman always deem the sperm cell inferior to their egg.
A man’s last fight is the Hyde Amendment. It was a way to limit abortion and in this world is the men that are the wealthiest. These high position men can afford to create laws. The Hyde amendment is one of those laws that were put in place by a man in power. “The Hyde Amendment has blocked federal Medicaid funding for abortion services (since 1994, there have been three extremely narrow exceptions: when continuing the pregnancy will endanger the woman’s life, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest).”(Hyde Amendment). If a man gets silenced then he will do anything to be heard once again. This is the result for the Hyde Amendment.