http://nfgworld.com/mb/thread/644-On-Pregnancy-in-Japan Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:05:01 GMT FeedCreator 1.8.0-dev (info@mypapit.net) http://nfgworld.com/mb/thread/644-On-Pregnancy-in-Japan
I suppose it's better than letting the man make all the calls - we all know you can't count on men for jack shit, right? 

Well, there's a third way, Japan's way.

In Japan, still a very male-dominated society, having a father is everything for a child, not just for the touchy feely family stuff, but for having a name, a lineage, and actual make-your-life-easier-at-city-hall stuff.

And here's where it gets interesting:

If a woman wants to keep the child, she's free to do so, but the man does not have to claim it as his own if he doesn't want to.  The woman gets her child and cannot trap the man into marriage or years of providing for a child he didn't want.  If she'd rather keep the man, or if she does the math and realizes she can't afford the child on her own, she has other options.

It maintains the balance.  Two people got into the mess in the first place, two people have a choice to make after conception.  It never made sense to me, to give the woman all the power after she becomes pregnant.  I very much approve of the idea that a woman can make her own decision, without being handed the authority to make one for the man. ]]> no_email@example.com (NFGworld.com - NFG) Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:15:31 GMT http://nfgworld.com/mb/644#1661