It is perfectly acceptable for everyone to have and share opinions, but when it comes to issues like abortion, the question must be raised as to what role men should play in making decisions about the female body.  

Everyone knows the issue of abortion is highly debated and very sensitive, however, when looking at other aspects of this dense topic, like the male perspective, things tend to get more heated. 

Last week on the Library Quad at Sacramento State, a few men were seen displaying signs supporting women’s rights to choose. One sign displayed a clothes hanger with the message, “Not like this, keep abortion safe and legal.” 

The efforts of this young man should be applauded, after all, he is sticking up for women’s rights to their own body, but the frustration remains when he’s standing for something that has little effect on his physical well-being. 

Perhaps the biggest point made in abortion debates is that women should have full, unobstructed rights to make decisions for their own body. 

Supporting women and the endeavor to abolish abortion laws is one thing, but imposing the male agenda on female rights is an unfair standard.  

The problem is this -– if we give men the majority of decision making rights with regard to abortion rights, we’re completely defeating the purpose of fighting for women to have control over topics that are exclusive to them. That’d be like giving women the right to decide if a man should get a vasectomy or not. Not your body, not your choice. 

On the flip side, the issue of fatherhood can’t be overlooked. If a woman becomes pregnant and decides to get an abortion, it might not seem fair, to some, that the father of the child has no rights to say yes or no. 

As for men who support abortion, statistics show they have not maintained a good track record for embracing responsibility. According to the the US Census Bureau, there were 12.2 million single-parent family homes in America. Of those home, 80 percent were headed by single mothers. 

A man being pro-choice could be misconstrued as another way to evade parental duties.

The worst part is not the overly zealous boyfriend itching for his girlfriend to end the pregnancy, but the fact that males are the dominant gender voting for and signing abortion legislation. 

Here’s a few examples: Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue and president of the Society for Truth and Justice who calls abortion “baby killing.” 

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, both written and signed into law by the male majority. The 108th Congress found that “partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated to preserve the health of the mother.” 

And perhaps the worst, political blog writer Ben Sherman, who coined the term “bro-choice” and cares more about the sex aspect than women’s rights. 

Sherman said, “Can you think of anything that kills the vibe faster than a woman fearing a back-alley abortion? Making abortion essentially inaccessible in Texas will add an anxiety to sex that will drastically undercut its joys. And don’t be surprised if casual sex outside of relationships becomes far more difficult to come by.”

Not all men are shirking their duties or trying to maintain the patriarchal ways of controlling all decisions affecting men and women alike, but for the sake of progress and avoiding devolving socially – let women make their own choices in life.