This year, Sen. Mary Landrieu -- Democrat of Louisiana -- plans to introduce the Proud Father Act. The law would address one aspect of the inequitable legal treatment of unmarried fathers seeking to fulfill their parental role, by creating a national registry of men who are (or believe they may be) the fathers of children born to single mothers. That would make it easier for these fathers to have their voices heard on critical issues, most particularly that of whether a child should be legally adopted by someone else.

As it now stands, and as vividly described in a recent New York Times article,, a single mother can easily thwart a father's desire to have a say in the adoption decision simply by moving across state lines. And most often, even that isn't necessary, as many single dads don't sign up for state registries because they a) don't know they exist b) don't know they have become fathers c) miss the filing deadline.

This is tricky territory. The cultural cliche of the feckless male carelessly fathering multiple children with multiple women and then failing to support them either financially or emotionally is built upon too many sad but true stories. And our long history of legally giving unwed mothers, rather than fathers, the right to make these critical decisions is grounded in some harsh realities: it is mothers who undergo pregnancy and childbirth and the risks that go with them; who in most cases will bear the primary burdens of caring for a child; and it is always certain who the mother is, whereas establishing paternity is a process many men have resisted.

Nevertheless, it does seem fundamental that a father who wants to have a relationship with his own child should have some voice in the adoption decision, and some right to establish a relationship with his offspring. Making that somewhat more likely is the ultimate goal of the registry.

I do believe that anything we can do as a society to encourage more unmarried men to embrace fatherhood and its responsibilities is ultimately good for kids. And fathers. And communities. Because, let's face it, marriage doesn't look poised for a comeback right now. So we need to work with what we've got.

While improved child support enforcement has helped many mothers and children achieve economic stability, it also has created a huge disincentive to regular work for many non-custodial fathers. Maybe those men would be more likely to work hard and try to get ahead if they saw their efforts going towards a better future for a child with whom they have an ongoing relationship; and that in itself seems more likely if the role of fatherhood was not so deeply discounted that a man's child can be adopted out of his reach without warning or recourse.