For some people, it's not an option morally.
True.
OK, but marriage and child support still seem like separate issues. If the couple were married, the man would still have to help support the kid. Having the woman as his wife isn't some kind of payback or benefit for that.
Right. And I wasn't suggesting that marriage was a "payback."
My original point was that men who want to have sex should keep in mind the very real possibility that they are going to end up making a baby. As Amanda's post suggested, this is something that traditionally women have had to take much more seriously.
I don't know that I can say that men take it any more seriously than women, or that women take it any more seriously than men. I know men and women alike who have very cavalier attitudes about it, and those that give the issue the gravity it deserves.
I know that the way I was raised, getting a girl pregnant seemed on par with shooting someone through the head.
A man should be legally entitled to joint custody of any child he is legally required to help support.
Thank you.
Milo, I understand what you're saying, and I do think men should have a say in whether their fetus gets aborted or delivered as a baby. I just don't think their say should be equal to that of the mother's, because they do not take on an equal burden. I'm not sure what the best answer is.
It is a bit of a conundrum. Both parents should have some say in the fate of the unborn child. That is why I floated the family/civil court balloon. Some situations need mediation (arbitration), other situations need regulation.