Here is the question what is your response? Type it in and send it. It will be added below the responses given at the meeting July 17th.
Question (Randy)
There is a young man, twenty-five years old who was dating a woman who said she had no interest in marriage or having a child and that she was on the pill. She gave birth to a child and now wants this young man to pay child support. Do you think he should be required to pay child support?
Dawn: If she wasn’t interested and was taking the pill, then you’ve got to wonder: how could this happen?
Before anything, there should be some testing done to see if he’s the dad.
Walt: It’s difficult for me to be a judge in other people’s lives, especially when I lack all the pertinent information.
I have no idea whether there was a DNA test, so I don’t know for sure if this young man is the father.
While it appears is that he was involved with her, I’m not sure he even knew that she had gotten pregnant or given birth. I don’t know whether he was told about it when the child was seven, ten, twelve years old, or only three months.
Does this young man and women care for each other? Can the man learn to love the child?
And barring that? (sharp gavel rap) DNA test!
Evelyn: (the winner) Quite a conundrum. I have a very difficult time with the idea of being a child coming into the world without support.
We haven’t had the immaculate conception since Jesus! So both of them should be responsible.
But maybe there should be another concern. When this child grows up and learns of this court case, this child might not appreciate either the mother or father!
So maybe there should be an alternative plan and arrange for adoption by some loving parents.
I think that there is a lot more to being a parent than sex and definitely more than financial support!
Matt: Yes. When you consent to sex, you are consenting to all the obligations that go along with it. One of them is that you might become a parent!
And at the point where you say yes to having sex, having a child is also your obligation.
July 21, 2006 at 12:17 am
My position on this is that couples are entering too lightly into
sexual relations without thinking of the consequences.
Although he biologically brought this child into the world, is he
really “the father”?
Ideally I’d like him to find a way to be a good father, but that’s
not usually the way it works, so the courts step in.