🚀 go-pugleaf

John Dyson wrote:
> 
> Carol Ann Hemingway wrote in message
> >        I would agree with you that where men and women are similarly
> >        situated they should be treated the same.  Gestation is simply
> >        NOT a similar situation.  Pregnancy isn't an excuse; it's
> >        a fact of life.
> 
> Indeed.  But let me ask you this--let's say I'm a co-worker...is it fair
> that you get 'knocked up,' and get a PAID ABSENSE from work for simply being
> pregnant and having a kid, when I can't possibly get the same benefit?  Why
> on earth should I have to "cover your work" for you because you're out
> reproducing?  I didn't get you pregnant..I haven't forced you into a
> pregnancy...I haven't decided to have kids...YOU have.  Why does the rest of
> you shop/office have to PAY for what you've decided?

Ahem.  You're getting way off the topic of the Promise Keepers.

On the issue of maternity/paternity leave, federal law does permit a
father to take unpaid leave for the birth of a child.  It's called The
Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA for short.  I believe most
employers in the United States are covered by this law. Many employers
will accomodate fathers with unpaid leave even if they are not covered
by the law.

There is one special difference between women and men.  Women are the
only people able to nurture an embryo through a pregnancy to birth. 
Would you prefer that women working do not have children?  That only
women beyond the age of menopause be allowed in the work force?  I think
we have little choice but to give them a little consideration for
procreating our species.

You make choices that affect your co-workers as well.  If you eat poorly
and suffer heart disease, then your co-workers will have to cover for
you while you recover from bypass surgery.  You smoke and then need to
get a lung transplant, who'll do your work during your recovery?  You
drink or do drugs and then need to be sent to an addiction recovery
hospital or clinic.  You're a health nut, always on the job as needed,
never miss a day, but one day you make a mistake about when to cross a
street while jogging and get hit by a car. You love your country, so you
join the Reserves or the National Guard. Many employers encourage this
activity, but your co-workers have to work overtime to cover for you on
numerous weekends and during your stints on active duty.  Should your
co-workers have to cover for you due to your decisions?  Accidents
happen and your co-workers have to cover for you. A death occurs in the
family and your co-workers have to cover for you. Life isn't always fair
and we only have a semblence of any control over it.  

There are a myriad other examples we could post that show how the
decisions and activities of one person affects a group.  With the
exception of childbirth, all apply equally to men and women.