General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: An open invitation to my brothers on DU.... [View all]Mister Ed
(6,644 posts)Men certainly have a fundamental duty to ensure that they make no one pregnant who doesn't wish to be. Vasectomy is one tool to help fulfill that duty, but there are others. Some of them involve forethought, self-denial, or self-restraint.
But ensuring against unwanted pregnancy is only part of the picture. Men have a duty to support women's control of their bodies in pregnancy. Not all women who contemplate ending a pregnancy have become pregnant unintentionally or unwillingly. What use or consolation is my vasectomy to those women and girls everywhere?
Beyond that, women also have a right to be free of the fear of someday having no say in a pregnancy. Men have a duty to help create a world in which women feel secure in the knowledge that they'll always be in charge of their bodies.
Women's rights regarding pregnancy are, in turn, just a small part of the overall picture. Their most basic and fundamental human rights, too numerous to mention here, seem to be perpetually threatened or endangered if not outright denied. Those rights must be strengthened, protected, and preserved.
When we answer this thread's OP by saying, "Ladies, we have your back", then we need be committing to all of the above-mentioned support, and more. Vasectomy is easy, but vasectomy doth not an ally make. We don't necessarily have to be sterile to be allies, but we must in all ways be committed to fully taking on the duties I've outlined here.
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