"I'm also sorry you feel that men should not have equal rights because mothers undergo more suffering." Did I say that? Greater suffering might imply a greater measure of sympathy for a woman than for a man in these circumstances, but that's not the same thing at all.

Biology does mean that mathematical equality is not always applicable. I do not think that there are many people who would think that "equality" together with "a right to choose" should ever mean that a man should have the right to insist that a woman pregnant by him should have an abortion.

However so far as I can see there is very little moral difference between that and the consequences of this legal decsiison - a view which appears to be shared by the leading architect of the legislation involved, the Fertility Act, Mary Warnock, when she said in reference to this case: "It's terribly, terribly unsatisfactory, because we didn't envisage the case where the partners would not agree and the woman would desperately want the baby. I think we were at fault there. If the law says the man has the right to prevent even the attempt at having a baby, it's a bad law and should be changed."