Apparently Arkansas has a law, The Final Disposition Rights Act of 2009, which stipulates who should make the decisions concerning the disposition of a person's remains if they died before leaving instructions. Arkansas wants to extend this law to cover fetal remains. The concern for some is that it gives men a "veto" over a woman's abortion.

As a general rule, I welcome additional rights for men and any reproductive rights a man gets is probably worth celebrating because as of now men have no reproductive rights. Still, I see problems with this.

First, how would they determine if the guy she indicates as the father is really the father and could this be done while the baby is in utero or only post abortion? What is the penalty for identifying the wrong father? Should she have to identify all possible fathers and have everyone agree? At least there is no exception for "rape victims" because we know that's a claim that will never be falsely made.

The issue is that I'm a bodily autonomy guy. Although I see this as more equal, it's not really what I would want, but I would support one aspect without reservation. After it's out of her body (post abortion), I think the "father" should have the rights to the remains if he so chooses. I've heard of some post abortion men who mourn the loss of their child. Her privacy rights at that point are moot. He doesn't have to be told that she had the abortion, just that someone did who indicated that he was the father. If interested, he could do a DNA test and claim the remains or if she wants them too, then they'd have to negotiate.

I'm leaning toward supporting the law's interpretation as some reproductive rights for men is better than no reproductive rights for men. It would also encourage women to "have the talk" with potential male partners. Some women have suggested that as a solution for men. They should "have the talk" with women about accidental pregnancy if he's worried what her decision would be.

http://archive.is/aYmQx#selection-111.1-111.41