Dubay has gone to the federal court because he believes that the child support assessed against him under the Michigan Paternity Statute is discriminatory. Matt has already bailed on his parenthood rights. There is no law requiring him to be a part of his daughter's life. What Matt now wants to do is bail on his parenthood obligations to his child. Matt's child has the right to be supported by both of her parents.
Equal protection, or equal rights, means that we treating equally those who are similarly situated. Equal protection is not immediately synonymous with "the same." A woman's decision to terminate a pregnancy or to bear her child and raise it has everything to do with control over her own body. A man has the exact same amount of control over his own bodily integrity. A man's decision to "bear a child" has everything to do with controlling where his sperm goes. And since male biology controls pregnancy from the outset, it is disingenuous for men to say that they somehow have an unequal stake in conception. Indeed, men probably have a superior "right" in controlling when and who becomes a parent.
