A Hypothetical Question

Comment sparks discussion on legal implications of pregnancy without consent, proposing lawsuits for lost wages and medical expenses to address the issue.

A Hypothetical Question

Before you respond, hear me out. This question touches on a lot of issues. For example, what is consent? Did you know it’s state dependent. In Washington, California and Maine nonconsensual condom removal is illegal, but not in other states.

It also touches on grape, which is illegal, but how often are the perpetrators held accountable? And honestly, how often do people even believe victims who report this? Rarely for both. Would financial repercussions be a deterrent to grape because apparently the threat of prison time is not enough?

I cannot believe how many people responded to this question by trying to “sl-t shame” me. Literally, it’s just a random question on the internet and it’s a good question because it touches on so many topics at once. I’m not disclosing anything about my personal life and ew!

It also touches on the invisible labor of women. We pay women loads of money to be surrogates. Why? Pregnancy is not a neutral event. There is something called the motherhood tax. Pregnancy and postpartum result in lost wages for the mother- meaning she never got to earn the money. If she has access to FMLA for 3 months that’s 3 months of lost income. You think she wouldn’t be working during that time? In this economy? And that’s if she has a healthy pregnancy and baby. Think about the lost income if the pregnancy or baby has complications. Not to mention the medical bills.

Then it brings up child support. Listen, I’m so surprised so many people are upset about child support. You’re not paying for the mother’s labor, you’re paying for your child. If you pay child support, you have lost money, but not wages, income, earning potential or contributions to retirement. You were still able to earn that income even though you had a bill to pay.

The equivalent of this would be if a woman forced a man to impregnate her without his consent (totally feasible) and then he lost wages/income caring for her and baby’s medical complications. If he was never able to earn the income as a direct result of her actions.

But probably the most important point is something I think women face everyday. Our bodies, health and time are not valued enough by our society.