Although it is true that this topic is not only debatable on a biological standpoint, but also a sociological one, let’s stick to the channel at hand and discuss the biological downfalls of such an act.
Physically, men are not equipped to have children. Not only are their bodies not right for it, but more importantly, hormonally they are not equipped either. Anyone who has studied pregnancy is aware that it is maintained by a delicate hormonal balance that triggers certain activites to take place. The hormone progesterone, for example is very important in early stages of pregnancy to maintain the pregnancy until The placenta is fully formed, at approximately 13 weeks. During the remainder of the pregnancy hormone levels continue to help support and maintain the pregnancy. At the onset of labor, it is believed that the child triggers hormonal shifts that begins contractions and milk production.
Why all this talk of hormones? It is very simple. Men cannot naturally produce the necessary hormones to sustain a pregnancy. If somehow a man could become pregnant, he would have to use artifical hormones to maintain it. Looking at menopausal women and the debate that is occurring with their us of hormone replacement therapy, using artificial hormones in pregnancy simply is not a good idea. Using HRT, women have experienced violent mood swings in some cases, as well as other side effects. In addition to that, it has been known to affect bone density, as well as increased disposition to breast cancer. If hormonal therapy has this type of effect on a full grown woman, what kind of effect will it have on a developing fetus?
Women who are pregnant go through significant changes- changes their bodies are designed to make. Increased breast size, loosening joints, hip widening, etc. Men are not designed to go through these changes. How will a pregnancy affect them physiologically as well as emotionally?
Medications of all sorts have been used for years, and in some cases only recently have the negative side effects come to light. The ramifications of such a birth, both on the child and the man are yet undetermined and too risky to take a chance.
Having read articles on this subject, many address the sociological, physiological, and emotional effects such a pregnancy can have on the men and women in society, but what about the unborn child? This is the person most affected by such a decision, and if something goes wrong, the one who has to live with all the consequences, yet the only one who does not have a say in what is best for him or her.
