By: V4 Agency
A biological father should have the right to stop a woman pregnant with his child from getting an abortion and a bill proposed by conservative politicians seeks to give them this option.
A recently submitted bill aims to grant biological fathers veto power over abortion. The proposed bill would enable fathers to prevent a woman pregnant their child from getting an abortion and if she, nevertheless, decides to abort the baby, then she could face sanctions.
Republican Senator Mark Pody introduced the new legislation in Tennessee in early February. Details reveal that a man can claim fatherhood voluntarily, but he can also do so without the woman’s consent, if he can provide the matching DNA samples. If the mother acknowledges the man’s paternity, DNA proof is not required.
“I believe a father should have a right to say what’s gonna be happening to that child,” Mark Pody said, arguing that a father should be able to say ‘no’ if somebody is going to kill his child.
Any man who claims to be the father would then be responsible for child support and other parental obligations. The man would not be able to rescind or challenge the paternity of the child after birth.
If the bills are passed and approved, the legislation would take effect on 1 July. Tennessee also adopted a law last July based on the so-called “heartbeat bill”, which banned abortions at the detection of a heartbeat. Such strict abortion regulations have also been introduced in several US states, most recently in South Carolina. Here, the law states that the foetus must undergo an ultrasound examination before abortion, and it is forbidden to terminate the pregnancy if a heartbeat is detected.
Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called signing the new law a “historic moment,” adding that the legislation is “arguably the most conservative, pro-life legislation in the country.”