The "fairness" argument for abortion rights is bogus
Men do not have "complete bodily autonomy" over their reproduction, and never did.
One of the common arguments for abortion rights is that “Women should have complete bodily autonomy, just like men do.” Putting aside all of the arguments about protecting the unborn baby and defending his basic human rights, the primary problem with the “bodily autonomy” argument is that it is simply not true. Men do not have “complete bodily autonomy” when it comes to reproduction. This is because in states where abortion is allowed, women are the only ones who decide whether the baby will be born. The man gets no say if his child is aborted, but also gets no say if he does not want the baby to be born.
If the baby is born, then the father is obligated to pay child support for the next 18 years, and has no choice in the matter. He does not control his own income and can be jailed if he does not comply. In the state of Indiana, this can be a felony conviction and could result in a prison sentence of five years. There have been documented cases where a man has been proven to not be the father years after the fact, but the courts forced him to continue to pay child support. Does that sound like complete bodily autonomy to you? If anything, women have far more rights than men do when it comes to “reproductive freedom.”
Now, regardless of the legality of abortion or the father’s say in the matter, mandatory child support is a good thing. Of course a man who fathers a child should be required to financially support that child. Our system needs to be reasonable and fair, and a negative paternity test should automatically end all financial obligations and trigger mandatory repayment of support if it is proven the mother knew about it. But a man should not be allowed to simply move on with his life and leave the mother with the physical, mental, emotional and financial responsibility of caring for a child. I am absolutely not advocating for “choice for men.”
But the argument that women have bodily autonomy while men do not is simply not true and we should stop allowing feminists to make that false claim without refutation. Once they have had sex, men do not have complete bodily autonomy over their reproduction and never did. Nor should they.