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Bob and Jane
live together and, like many young couples, they sometimes argue. There never
seems to be enough money, and while they both want to go to college, neither has
yet been able to do so. Jane recently discovered that she is pregnant.
Jane is
ambivalent about the pregnancy, and her friends think she should terminate
it--she’s too young, and Bob isn’t very stable. Bob would like to be a father
someday, but not now--he can’t pay their bills and wants a better career.
One day Bob
and Jane argue over some things Jane bought with their credit card, and Bob
tells Jane he doesn’t want to pay their bills anymore. He says he’s tired of
arguing with her, doesn’t want her to have the baby, and wants to move out for a
while and think things over.
Under a bill
recently passed by the Michigan House of Representatives, Bob could go to jail.
HB 5882,
which passed the Michigan House 67-38, amends the Michigan Penal Code to create
the Coercive Abortion Prevention Act. Its purpose is to prohibit the putative
father of a pregnant woman’s child from coercing or intimidating the woman into
terminating her pregnancy. While preventing violence or threats of violence
against pregnant women is an admirable goal, HB 5882 goes way beyond this by
interfering with constitutionally protected personal prerogatives.
HB 5882
actually makes it a crime for a man to "change or attempt to change an existing
housing or cohabitation arrangement" with a pregnant significant other, to "file
or attempt to file for a divorce" from his pregnant wife, or to “withdraw or
attempt to withdraw financial support” from a woman who he has been supporting,
if it is determined that the man is doing these things to try to pressure the
woman to terminate her pregnancy.
This violates
men’s rights. The U.S. constitution’s protected liberty interests safeguard
privacy in areas such as contraception, abortion, marriage, procreation, child
rearing and sexual conduct between consenting adults. Do Michigan legislators
believe these protections don’t also cover the basic personal choices HB 5882
proscribes?
The Michigan
National Organization for Women and other women’s advocates have declared their
opposition to CAPA because they see it as a step towards limiting women’s
reproductive freedoms. Yet to date HB 5882 has only drawn comment for its
potential impact on women's reproductive rights and not its serious consequences
for men.
The bill is
also laden with unfair presumptions of male guilt. There are many legitimate
reasons why a man might be angry over his wife or girlfriend’s pregnancy. He may
leave because he doubts that the child she is carrying is his. He may want her
to terminate a pregnancy because he felt he was deceived into getting her
pregnant, and doesn’t want to be on the hook for 18 years of child support. He
may leave because she blames him for not being a good enough provider, or lashes
out at him during pregnancy-related mood swings. None of these behaviors are
particularly chivalrous, but they are certainly understandable.
A talented
district attorney, who may be looking for publicity as a defender of pregnant
women, could frame a man's decision as an attempt to coerce an abortion. The
accused needn’t be convicted to suffer egregious harm--the cost of criminal
defense is often ruinous, and the emotional toll can be worse.
While the media has greatly exaggerated the
threat men pose to their pregnant wives or girlfriends, the physical danger from
which HB 5882’s supporters seek to protect women is real. For example, Rae
Carruth, formerly a prominent NFL wide receiver, was convicted in 2001 of
conspiring to murder a woman who was carrying his fetus. The woman had refused
to terminate her pregnancy, and, according to the prosecution, Carruth didn’t
want to be obligated to pay child support.
It’s debatable whether the anti-violence provisions of HB 5882 are good law,
because the violence it prohibits is already illegal. But protecting women from
the Rae Carruths of the world is one thing--punishing men for their private
conduct in their personal relationships is quite another.
This
column first appeared in the Detroit News (11/30/06) as part of a
point-counterpoint called “Does abortion coercion bill
trample rights?” To read the column as published, see
Bill assumes male guilt and opens door to unfair prosecutions. The
counterpoint by Suanne Thompson, legislative liaison
for Right to Life of Michigan, is
Women need protection from undue pressure to have abortions.
Jeffery
M. Leving is one of America's most prominent family law attorneys. He is the
author of the new HarperCollins book
Divorce Wars: A Field Guide to the Winning Tactics, Preemptive Strikes, and Top
Maneuvers When Divorce Gets Ugly. His website is
www.dadsrights.com.
Glenn
Sacks' columns on men's and fathers' issues have appeared in dozens of America's
largest newspapers. Glenn can be reached via his website at
www.GlennSacks.com or
via email at Glenn@GlennSacks.com.
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