----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com> To: "lbo-talk" <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 12:32 PM Subject: Mandatory fatherhood
> [bounced bec of technical difficulties]
>
> Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 15:34:17 -0500
> From: "Lisa Frank" <lisa.frank at ranknfile-ue.org>
> To: dhenwood at panix.com
>
> Nathan Newman wrote:
>
> > Let's flip the issue a bit-- why can mandatory fatherhood be imposed on men
> > if a woman gets pregnant? If she chooses not to get an abortion, a one-time
> > sexual encounter can become a lifetime financial responsibility with no
> > choice by the man involved. Some anti-abortion feminists argue that it is
> > precisely the option of abortion that leaves men feeling justified in
> > walking away from responsibilities from unexpected pregnancies. Where do
> > values of "choice" come in such a situation?
>
> Jeez, Nathan, why not draw the obvious and indeed feminist conclusion
> that mandatory fatherhood is also deplorable? The current practice of
> running down the father for child support before affording children
> access to (too meager) public support is sexist and regressive and we
> should oppose it. All children (and indeed all people) ought to have
> basic rights to food, shelter, education, healthcare so that no one's
> well-being hinges on the good will or sense of responsibility of this or
> that or the next male.
>
===================
This just anonymizes the structuring of obligations in the society and anonymizing obligations leads precisely to the culture of mutual indifference many claim to abhor. I'm not disagreeing with what you write by any means, but a paradox is showing in demanding a libertarian-individualist approach to bodies and their dispositions and intentionalities yet calling for the State to coerce others to refrain from using the State to coerce us while respecting the obligations we call for. I for one don't know how to overcome the paradoxes-aporias of how we go about constructing a socially stable public-private distinction. In that sense we're in the same situations as some Christians who refuse to pay taxes to the State because they are against war and militarism.
Ian