Hrmmmm, I think you’ve misunderstood my posts. I’ve explicitly stated that I do not think that abortion or abandonment constitute a dispute (or “contract”) between the mother and the child because the child is unable to speak for itself. In the case of abortion, we are really talking about a dispute over the disposal of the fetal tissue. Prior to viability, there is nothing to dispute… the woman may simply dispose of it and it certainly would constitute aggression for someone to forcibly prevent her from doing so, even the biological father of the fetus. After viability, the exact terms of the dispute would have to be hammered out in court but basically, I think a mother should not be permitted to have the child removed in a manner that does not preserve its life, if the biological father wants to raise it. Such killing seems to me to be gratuitous and immoral. However, in order for the father to assert an interest in having the viable child removed non-destructively, he must be aware of the fact of the pregnancy and must indicate his intent prior to the operation. Failing that, his “right” to the child’s life is lost*.
In the case of abandonment, we’re really talking about a monetary dispute… who pays to raise the kid?? The very existence of publicly subsidized alternatives increases the amount of abandonment by reducing its emotional costs - family does not place as much pressure on parents to stick with it as they would if the family had to pick up the tab when parents abandon their children. It has a similar effect on divorce… it’s much easier to try to walk out from a marriage and try to shirk your financial/household obligations in doing your part in raising your own offspring if you are living under a legal system that is lopsided and makes one side or the other pay more heavily and eases the burden on the other side. Abortion, divorce, child abandonment are all issues that are far too complex to be handled by statutory law and the family in Western society has been visibly blighted by the proliferation of statutory family law. These used to be handled under the umbrella of religious institutions. No one can know from introspection or any other method what is the right solution to these complex social issues. I think we need competitive law courts to really flesh out the details of each case and which will allow new precedents and best-practices to emerge to guide people in understanding the consequences of their actions in marrying, having children, and so on.
Clayton -
*Bear in mind that I’m interpolating here, I’m “guessing” what sort of legal norms would emerge in a natural order legal system… I’m not making fiat normative pronouncements