[NanaC]

<<<The more I think about, the more I think: If a woman wants an abortion, she doesn't have to get bfather's permission; if she wants to parent, she doesn't have to get bfather's permission; why should she have to if she wants an adoption?>>>

A man doesn't have to give his "permission" for a woman to get an abortion because he has no legal standing to tell her what to do with her body. Whether you agree with it or not, the courts don't consider a pregnancy a baby, and the state of pregnancy is just a another "condition" that only the woman has the right to control. That is why he can't contest an abortion.

And, yes, a man (father) has no legal grounds to contest a woman keeping her child. BUT, he does have the legal right to disagree with, and contest, her custody desires. According to the law, once the child is born, he has rights. And, he also has responsibilities...responsibilities that he has no opportunity to get out of (like the mother) because he feels he can't fulfill them, so it is best that the child be given up for adoption.

I think that there are plenty of people who were raised (almost solely) by loving, attentive fathers, who would seriously disagree with your assessment that fathers shouldn't be allowed any say as it relates to what happens to their children.

I appreciate the fact that the woman has the greater burden in regards to pregnancy and childbirth, and said as much in my "I realize all things are not equal" statement. But, nevertheless, I don't think a woman's greater burden gives her a greater right, particularly when the father can't be proven unfit and is willing to accept his responsibilities.

I respectfully submit that comparing what happens in abortion situations to what happens in adoption or child-rearing situations just muddies the issues, and is not a valid comparision, no matter how you feel about abortion.