Unwed father rights

John writes:

This is the second libertarian feminist to take up the cause of this "biological father." Wendy McElroy wrote a similar column a week ago. PS strongly disagrees. She supports the right of an unwed mother to put her child up for adoption without notifying the "father" who, in her view, should have no rights.

Cathy Young says:

In the end, our society sends men quite a mixed message. If your partner gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby, you're liable for 18 years of child support, whether or not you want to be a father. If she doesn't want to be a mother, she can give your child to strangers and there isn't much you can do. Then we complain that men don't take parenthood seriously enough.

I do think that the rights and responsibilities of fatherhood should be linked to marriage. The columnists do have a point in that it is unjust for unwed fathers to have responsibilities, but not rights.