Expecting fathers may have questions about a father’s rights before birth. Decisions made during pregnancy, including medical testing, health care decisions, and adoption, can have great significance once a child is born.
Traditionally, mothers retain most of the decision-making rights regarding an unborn child. However, children can benefit from fathers embracing the rights and duties of fatherhood as soon as possible. Knowing more information on fathers’ rights can help parents make the best of those important decisions before the birth of a child.
Prenatal Medical Care
Pregnant women should undergo routine medical screening. Screening can spot health concerns of both the mother and the unborn child. An expectant father can demonstrate his commitment to the child by contributing to the cost of prenatal health care. Fathers can also take parenting classes. Such efforts set the groundwork for a positive father-child relationship in the future. They present strong indicators of the desire to establish paternity and parental rights after birth.
Sometimes the parents of an unborn child disagree about which medical decisions are best. In that instance, the desires of the child’s mother about health care decisions will take precedence. Historically, the law views the right to make health care decisions as an individual right. For example, in 2014, a New Jersey state court upheld a mother’s decision to exclude an unwed father from the delivery room. The court found that concern for the mother’s privacy and health were key.
