Thursday, March 09, 2006

Morning Conversation Starters

While the driving back and forth to Winchester is a bit tiring..there are some benefits.. one of them being the conversations I have with the kids on the way back to lexington.. this morning we were listening to the radio .. one of our favorite morning shows.. they were talking about a New York case involving mens rights .. The case is about a guy that had a fling and the woman got pregnant.. she wants him to pay child support .. he doesn't think he should since it was a consensual act and they took precautions..

I personally can see this from all points of view.. my ex and I had 18 yrs of marriage.. he raised our 4 kids with me.. and when we split he fought long and hard to get out of paying child support because I wasn't with him..Ron on the other hand never shirked his child support when he and his ex split .. and he took on the responsiblity of my 4 kids when he married me.. actually long before we got married he was supporting not only me but them as well.. anyway.. Chelsea got to talking about what we were listening to.. she feels about the same way I do.. That in some ways women have all the options available to them and men do not.. I dont think men should get away with not supporting their children.. but what about men that want the child when the woman doesn't.. if she decides to abort the man has no right to keep her from it.. if she decides to put the child up for adoption it is sometimes very hard for the father to keep the child himself.. but if the woman chooses to keep the child the man is almost always required to pay support and in cases of one night stands.. the man often doesn't get to be a part of the child's life that he has to pay to support.. I personally have issues with the unequalness of this..

Personally.. abortion would never be an option for me.. adoption I am on the fence about but to me is a viable option if you know you can't take care of a child.. But, I do know if I had ever gotten pregnant by someone one night stand or similar situation..( not that I have ever had a one night stand) I would be willing to take full responsiblity for any consequences resulting from that.. I am an adult.. If I chose to sleep with someone I know the possible outcome.. if I got a STD I would have to take care of the cost of treatment.. If I got pregnant.. I would have to choose what to do about it.. therefore.. making the decision to have sex in the first place I would have to be ready and willing to raise a child if one were to result from that encounter if I chose to keep the baby.. I think that should go both ways.. both parties should look at it from the standpoint of owning the decisions they make.. I think fathers should support their children.. I think men should have some say so in the decision to keep or not keep a child they helped to create.. if we women have the options we do.. then men should have more themselves.. just my take on it..

Chelsea saw it from a Ron point of view.. she said that even tho she doesn't like some of the rules around here.. and she doesn't agree with Ron all the time.. she has a great deal of respect for him.. she said he has gone above and beyond any responsibility to raise children.. My kids are not biologically his.. but his love and support has made him their dad as much as their biological one is.. I think she said it well..

I know there are a million women out there fighting and struggling to get the support they need for their kids.. I also know there are plenty of good men that want to do the right thing.. and there are men that can't even get the chance to be fathers because all the choices have been taken out of their hands.. except the financial ones..

ok.. rambling and ranting over.. time to eat something and wait for Sierra and Jordan to get here for our thrift store date.. Y'all have fun..

No comments: