2007-2008 Years in Review

Reproductive choice issues dominated our media advocacy in 2006 following the filing of "Roe vs. Wade for Men." NCM representatives appeared on five different CNN shows, including "Anderson Cooper 360°," FOX News programs including "The O'Reilly Factor," and also "Dr. Phil," "Good Morning America," "ABC World News" and dozens of prominent talk radio shows. Our Reproductive Rights Project achieved what was arguably the most successful campaign for men's equal rights in the history of the men's movement: We educated many millions of people about equal reproductive choice. But NCM has always focused on a variety of other men's issues and 2007 was no exception…

In February of 2007, Time magazine published an article entitled "A Time Limit on Rape." The article reported on a Maryland case in which a teenager was accused of rape because, after the beginning of consensual sex, he didn't immediately withdraw when his female partner told him to stop. According to Time, "The accuser and the defendant agree that after he began to penetrate her and she wanted him to stop, he did so within a matter of seconds and did not climax." In fact, when asked at trial how long the young man remained inside of her after she told him to stop, she answered, "About five or so seconds." He said he stopped immediately. Astonishingly, a jury convicted him of first-degree rape.

NCM executive director, Mel Feit, was quoted in the article: "At a certain point during arousal, we don't have complete control over our ability to stop. To equate that with brutal, violent rape weakens the whole concept of rape." Many people, men and women, responded to Mel's quote by sending us angry e-mails but, of course, a five second delay can't possibly be the same as a violent sexual assault. The angry e-mail and the jury's verdict revealed how a virulent victim-feminist ideology can overwhelm reason and common sense.

Our presence in Time led to dozens of other media opportunities for us, mostly on talk radio and in newspapers. In particular, Tony Nazzaro was quoted in the Baltimore Sun and Mel was a guest on the "Howard Stern Show". As a result of this media exposure a few hundred men and their families who needed help found NCM's counseling program in 2007 and benefited from the guidance they probably would not have received anywhere else. A men's advocacy/counseling program should not be unique to NCM, but it is, and we are very proud of the service we provide.

Throughout 2007 NCM produced programs for "MensNet," a New York cable TV talk show devoted to men's issues. On the set of "MensNet" we have discussed ideas you won't read about in Time or in any mainstream media. Here's what we did:

• -- "Censorship on Campus: A Conversation with John Leo," former columnist at U.S. News and World Report.
  We talked with Mr. Leo about the origins of political correctness and intolerance in academia.
• -- "The Aptitude Gender Gap" explored whether the apparent intellectual differences between the sexes are the result of culture or biology.
• -- "The Great Pre-Nup Debate" looked at the pros and cons of pre-nuptial agreements.
• -- "Communicating Intimately" examined the barriers to intimate communication between men and women.
• -- "The Sexual Politics of Divorce" investigated the obvious gender bias in the family courts.
• -- "The Vagina Dialogues" was a spirited discussion and debate about the play "The Vagina Monologues" and female sexual power.

In the Control Room (From L to R): Anthony Nazzaro, executive producer, and Carmelo Rigaglia, director, calling the shots on "MensNet."

On the Set of "MensNet" (From L to R): Steve Metzger, John Leo and Mel Feit discuss political correctness in the media and on college campuses.

Of course, we continued to make appearances on the mainstream media. In the Fall of 2007, when a panel of the sixth circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Matt Dubay in the "Roe vs. Wade for Men" case, Matt and Mel went on MSNBC's "Live with Dan Abrams" to discuss the case. The ruling was anticipated but still disappointing. Mel told Dan, "We were asking the Court to decide whether the right to separate sexual intimacy from forced procreation was a fundamental human right or a right to be enjoyed only by people with internal reproductive systems."

Abrams was sympathetic to the idea that a man should not be forced into fatherhood if he was the victim of fraud or deceit. In fact, even when the press has been hostile to men's rights issues in general, it has usually referred to "Roe for Men" with at least a neutral curiosity. As an example, take a look at the February 12, 2008 issue of The Nation, which characterizes NCM's reproductive choice position as giving a man the opportunity to relinquish, through the courts, the rights and responsibilities of parenthood just as a woman has the opportunity to end her potential parenthood through abortion. They got it right.

Matt Dubay and Mel Feit discussing Matt's appeal on MSNBC

Preparing for "MensNet" discussion of gender differences: influenced more by culture or biology?

Dr. Phil with Mel Feit, analyzing the pros and cons of "putative father registries"

Ironically, 2008 began with men's reproductive choice on our agenda again, but with a twist. An Oregon man who wanted to be a father was powerless to prevent his biological child from being adopted away from him because he hadn't signed the state's "putative father registry."

Mel went on the "Dr. Phil" show to point out the clear double standard: Had the biological mother in this case wanted this man to pay child support, the Oregon Court would have ordered him to pay and no one would have said a word about any registry. Putative Father Registries, which exist in about 25 states, are simply obstacles put in the way of biological fathers who want to assert parental rights. The objective of these registries is to assure that women have unfettered reproductive choice. The "Dr. Phil" show was taped in February and was broadcast on April 30, 2008.

Mel was back on the set of "Dr. Phil" in March, offering commentary on a nasty custody case in which ex-spouses had difficulty putting personal animosity aside for the sake of their children. Mel said that a custodial parent had a legal and moral obligation to facilitate the children's contact with the non-custodial parent. Failure to do so, he argued, was grounds to lose custody and could also put children at risk of becoming alienated from the non-custodial parent, usually the father. Phil McGraw seemed to agree with Mel parental alienation might be considered child abuse. Mel also maintained that there was a clear double standard in enforcement of family court decisions, with dads sometimes being thrown in prison while moms often disobeyed court orders without consequence.

This show was broadcast in September of 2008, at the beginning of a new season of "Dr. Phil." Look for more NCM appearances on "Dr. Phil" throughout the year.

Earlier, in the Spring of 2008, Mel was a guest on Bill O'Reilly's radio show to discuss what Bill called "the downside of a female presidency." Mel referred to the many laws which give advantage to women and noted Hillary Clinton's pledge that, as a woman in the White House, she would challenge the way things have been done and what the rules are. "Perhaps she intends to make things fairer for men," Mel said sarcastically. This could get very interesting…

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