Thai Minister Vows To Hold Men Responsible For Pregnancies

[webfact]

Plan to hold men responsible for pregnancies

By The Nation

Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai yesterday vowed to hold men responsible for pregnancies.

His comments follow public shock at the discovery of more than 2,000 human foetuses at a Bangkok temple, which had been dumped after illegal abortions.

Issara said his ministry had drawn up a strategy to prevent unwanted pregnancies among youth well before the foetuses were discovered. It would seek to make men responsible for impregnating women.

"We can't just blame women and girls. Men and boys must share the blame and responsibility," the minister said. He spoke after meeting a network advocating women's right to choose abortion.

Issara said the strategy would be put to the Cabinet shortly. Once it got the green light, he would put it on the national agenda.

"All relevant agencies including the National Police Office must work together so as to deliver tangible results," he said.

The Office of the Attorney-General will be consulted, he said, on how to hold men legally responsible for pregnancies and what punishment they should face.

"I am determined to make men share the responsibility. If a criminal offence is involved, criminal proceedings will begin," Issara said. "From the civil aspect, men must help pay for the upbringing of the babies. Society must not protect men. Don't put all the blame on women."

If young men violated women, Issara said their parents must be held accountable too.

He planned to ask the prime minister to convene a meeting of provincial governors to explain the strategy, as soon as it gets Cabinet approval.

"I also plan to hold public forums to gather opinions from men," he said.

The pro-choice network, which is made up of various organisations, called yesterday for better sex education at school, plus the establishment of a Centre for Sexual Health and Reproduction, as well as effective campaigns to make the public better understand safe sex and responsibility.

The network also asked for urgent measures to reduce the number of babies being abandoned and illegal abortions, and centres offering help to rape victims who become pregnant.

Dr Suriyadeo Tripathi, director of the National Institute for Child and Family Development, said about 300,000 women and girls sought illegal abortions every year.

-- The Nation 2010-12-01

[gotlost]

Thailand really need to come out of the dark ages on this subject.

[jayjay0]

Issara say's

I am determined to make men share the responsibility. If a criminal

offence is involved, criminal proceedings will begin," Issara said.

"From the civil aspect, men must help pay for the upbringing of the

babies. Society must not protect men. Don't put all the blame on women.

All to true hope he can do some thing. My brother in law in Washington state works for Human Resources his job is to track down dead beat fathers.

Thailand is not a third world country it must abandon it's attitude toward men on this subject.""

Edited December 1, 2010 by jayjay0

[Buchholz]

Kudos to the government's effort to establish shared paternal responsibilities. It's long overdue. One wonders how many of the abortions were conducted out of the woman's concern that she faced the prospect of raising the child alone and without any financial or emotional support from the father.

[lothda]

How about preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first case? Contraceptives of all kinds have been available for many decades - educate people to use them

Edited December 1, 2010 by lothda

[TAWP]

How about preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first case? Contraceptives of all kinds have been available for many decades - educate people to use them

Indeed.

And blaming worries about money as a reason for abortion is despicable. That is committing murder for monetary gain/prevention of loss. Nothing noble or right about that. What is next, it is ok if a woman commits infanticide if the husband/bf leaves her in the first 2 years of the child's life?

Until both genders can carry a child there can never be equality as the man has *NO* rights whatsoever until the child is born. Only responsibilities. Gender equality, eh?

[asiawatcher]

Thailand really need to come out of the dark ages on this subject.

Yes - and people like Khun Issara needs a strong lesson in ignorance against arrogance. The light and dark sides of Thai society that publicly decries issues of sex, and underhandedly condones and practices it at all levels. And the Police to be involved? Considering my own knowledge of numbers who own multiple bars in both Pattaya and Bangkok I would say that this 'attention grabbing' headline is nothing more than that. What a croc

[Mario2008]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

[BigC]

Issara say's

I am determined to make men share the responsibility. If a criminal

offence is involved, criminal proceedings will begin," Issara said.

"From the civil aspect, men must help pay for the upbringing of the

babies. Society must not protect men. Don't put all the blame on women.

All to true hope he can do some thing. My brother in law in Washington state works for Human Resources his job is to track down dead beat fathers.

Thailand is not a third world country it must abandon it's attitude toward men on this subject.""

the law is a very sensitive 1. firstly if a lady has already had the illegal abortion. then how can u prove who the farther is.

if the baby is born and the baby is not properly looked after and then the mother and farther are arrested then if there was a chance early in the pregnancy to terminate and in a funny way save the lives of 3 people then why can't mothers take the option. rarther than give birth to a baby with lack of resorces to take care of it. i mean either way the baby will end up with no parents. if the parent cannot take care of the baby and get put in jail for 3 years then where will the baby go.

this is thailand. normally they find ways to make peoples lives easier not harder.

the population is already very high. which mean less resorces in the country and there is enough poverty as it is. More babies with more poor people makes a bad spiral of future events

[BigC]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

that will be a great way to open up child black mail like in the UK

[cup-O-coffee]

"There are about 700 teenage girls getting pregnant each day, with 400 of them seeking or accomplishing abortion,"

">

Good Luck, Mr. Minister! Not even the IRS could locate and DNA test all these males. And this statistic is just a drop in the bucket to the overall picture.

Another dam_n stupid news article!

Edited December 1, 2010 by cup-O-coffee

[jaltsc]

Unfortunately, with the male mentality as it is in Thailand, don't be surprised to see more murders of women who threaten to hold the sperm donors responsible for the support of their babies. The whole culture of male privilege needs to be changed from birth on. I doubt that any male fathering a child will be imprisoned for not paying support. No matter what the government vows to do, it can't change the national mindset.

[Mario2008]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

that will be a great way to open up child black mail like in the UK

It is the law already, and because of international treaties even enforcable when the father lives in another country and it is no blackmail.

If you farther a child, you are also responsible and should pay for the child's upbringing. What ever the deal is between you and the mother, the child didn't ask for it and you are as responsible for birth control as the mother of the child is.

[tonititan]

If you farther a child, you are also responsible and should pay for the child's upbringing. What ever the deal is between you and the mother, the child didn't ask for it and you are as responsible for birth control as the mother of the child is.

Amen to that!

[surayu]

What a wacko of a minister , so the solution is to put in jail every year 300.000 women and another 300.000 men, as reports talks about inmates already sleeping like dogs on a concrete floor without space between them because of how much those cells are crowded, this means that they will very likely start pileing them up making different layers if they start putting more people in there, how long before the UN will start looking into it? Omama leave alone the arabs, the emergency is here !

[hammered]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

Totally agree with that.

I am also a firm believer in abortion on demand

[Buchholz]

What a wacko of a minister , so the solution is to put in jail every year 300.000 women and another 300.000 men, as reports talks about inmates already sleeping like dogs on a concrete floor without space between them because of how much those cells are crowded, this means that they will very likely start pileing them up making different layers if they start putting more people in there, how long before the UN will start looking into it? Omama leave alone the arabs, the emergency is here !

Sorry to interrupt a good rant, but for the benefit of the reading impaired, the applicable portion of the OP is repeated:

The Office of the Attorney-General will be consulted, he said, on how to hold men legally responsible for pregnancies and what punishment they should face.

"I am determined to make men share the responsibility. If a criminal offence is involved, criminal proceedings will begin,"

[marquess]

Unfortunately, with the male mentality as it is in Thailand, don't be surprised to see more murders of women who threaten to hold the sperm donors responsible for the support of their babies. The whole culture of male privilege needs to be changed from birth on. I doubt that any male fathering a child will be imprisoned for not paying support. No matter what the government vows to do, it can't change the national mindset.

No Thai male perhaps, but I see a new avenue opening up for Bar Girls and the BIB!

[slapout]

If I thought this whole social project was being brought about for the benefit of the newborn child, their upbringing/education cost, etc it would appear as a good idea. In reality it is another proposed method to get government officials involved in what is now a family matter. With the track record of the Thai umpires in enforcing any legal matter, it appears to be another way to skim the cream off of the top. The proposal and its intent was in all likelihood a honest attempt at solving a real problem. The enforcement of any possible solution, is the problem in Thailand, not the original concern/problem.

[mythBuster]

Hypocrites are all over the place. Thai elitists have multiple "mia nois" even as ministers they run massage parlours. We have Vice PM's who have been accused of raping women but wow they ride the waves of morality high.

If all Thai men need to pay for their wives that they have left with children, Pattaya would be without hookers. (Although according some sources there are no hookers of course).

Grow up, establish a system in which you educate people make anti conception more accepted and run decent abortion clinics. Banning the practice mean suffering for women, more as they already do.

Instead of punishing people, simply let them pay for the children. That is good enough and what parents have to do with a 15 or 16 year old, who does what any 15 or 16 year old child does is a puzzle to me. oid

[wotaplonker]

women's rights in Thailand? Shurley shum mishtake

[AsiaCheese]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

Yep, there's that law. But I have yet to hear from any Thai person who is aware of it in the first place, and from any single mother who received child support after the guy's left...

[Thai at Heart]

If the minister can create a law to do it, he will turn Thai culture on its head.

I wish him all the luck in the world to enable the most moral piece of legislation that will allow women who have been impregnated to claim easily recompense from the man who delivered a baby to her.

Unfortunately he has to overturn a few hundred years of misplaced male supremacy in this country, and I wish him all the success that I can give.

The saddest thing is that it took a macabre show in a temple for one person with power to understand what is going on in his country every day. Which gilded land and society was he living in before he had this epiphany?

[Buchholz]

Instead of punishing people, simply let them pay for the children.

uhmmm... that is what they are proposing.

The punishing aspect occurs if they don't pay for the children.

[Buchholz]

If the minister can create a law to do it, he will turn Thai culture on its head.

I wish him all the luck in the world to enable the most moral piece of legislation that will allow women who have been impregnated to claim easily recompense from the man who delivered a baby to her.

Unfortunately he has to overturn a few hundred years of misplaced male supremacy in this country, and I wish him all the success that I can give.

The saddest thing is that it took a macabre show in a temple for one person with power to understand what is going on in his country every day. Which gilded land and society was he living in before he had this epiphany?

Likely the same as all his predecessors for "a few hundred years," but unlike them, he's decided to do something about it.

.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Buchholz

[Thai at Heart]

If the minister can create a law to do it, he will turn Thai culture on its head.

I wish him all the luck in the world to enable the most moral piece of legislation that will allow women who have been impregnated to claim easily recompense from the man who delivered a baby to her.

Unfortunately he has to overturn a few hundred years of misplaced male supremacy in this country, and I wish him all the success that I can give.

The saddest thing is that it took a macabre show in a temple for one person with power to understand what is going on in his country every day. Which gilded land and society was he living in before he had this epiphany?

Likely the same as all his predecessors for "a few hundred years," but unlike them, he's decided to do something about it.

.

As I said, I wish him all the luck and wish him success. Hope this government hangs around long enough to allow him to do it.

Shame it took a horror show at a temple for him to do it.

There are some good guys (and a lot of schiesters) in this government, and they are slowly putting their hands up trying to propose to solve some real social problems.

Problem is that it appears to take exactly the same amount of time to create a law as it takes to get around to the next election, so I won't hold my breath.

[KeyserSoze01]

So, do they plan to address this issue the way Thai women get even. By lopping off the offending appendage.

No one forces Thai women to point their feet in the air and have unprotected sex. Why blame only the men? It all seems a bit Thai to me. Oh wait!!!

[diehard60]

Men are already responsible for pregnancies under Thai law, it is called child support. Maybe the minister can improve the enforcement for paying child support.

You mean some polce will have to pay child support? OMG!!!!

[diehard60]

What a wacko of a minister , so the solution is to put in jail every year 300.000 women and another 300.000 men, as reports talks about inmates already sleeping like dogs on a concrete floor without space between them because of how much those cells are crowded, this means that they will very likely start pileing them up making different layers if they start putting more people in there, how long before the UN will start looking into it? Omama leave alone the arabs, the emergency is here !

oh you are dumber then dirt. Omama???? Jerk just shut your mouth. ass wipe

[manarak]

- legalize abortion until a certain point in the pregnancy

- allow women to go give birth anonymously, effectively abandoning their child if it is unwanted

it is not so difficult, is it?