Abortion Issues: the 'Gag Rule' and the Role of Men

Regarding the Opinion page article "Pregnancy, Abortion, and 'Real Men'," April 16: I am pleased to see that the issue of male/female partnership in conception and abortion and, in particular, men's rights in this regard, is finally getting some attention.

I am disappointed, however, that the author's concluding judgments fell short of a position of true equality between the sexes.

The author's support of the essence of Roe v. Wade - that the child-bearing decision is exclusively the woman's - maintains the prevalent sexist (in other words, anti-male) dogma.

As long as society grants exclusive control over childbearing decisions to women and yet demands that men shoulder the lion's share of the responsibility for those decisions, the issue will remain a divisive one that undermines social harmony, the stability of intimate relationships, and respect for the courts. Robert Hurwitz, Greenfield, Mass.

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