I don’t think it changes mine at all.
I think Penelope is ethically obliged to inform Kevin in the absence of prior agreement to the contrary.
I also think that is where Penelope’s ethical duty ends. She’s obliged to inform him of the pregnancy and her decisions regarding it.
In making her decision, she’s entitled to make it with as much (or as little) input from Kevin as she’s comfortable with, although if it were me, you can be certain I’d take my spouse’s feelings into consideration while making my decision. Presumably, in a happy marriage, Penelope routinely takes Kevin’s feelings into consideration when making life decisions (not that she gives them any more or less weight than her own feelings, but I assume she takes them into consideration).
Because he wants children at some point in his life? Why do you think he should have a vasectomy because she doesn’t want children? :dubious:
Because " Penelope has no desire for children; Kevin has agreed to accept that". That’s why. This is a childless marriage. If Kevin is holding out hope for a 3rd act pivot, he’s in for a rough landing.
Answering before I read the other responses.
Ethically, no. She has no obligation to tell him, because they agreed when they got married that they weren’t going to have children. Since nothing he says will presumably change her mind and he can’t force her to carry the child just because he’s opposed to abortion, then if she chooses to inform him all that will happen is that he will feel a lot of negative emotions (sadness, remorse, perhaps resentment against her for killing their child).
Personally, I would tell him if I were Penelope. Actually, we have exactly this kind of marriage (though we’re too old to have kids now so it’s pretty much irrelevant). My spouse has a vasectomy (we were poor college students, it was easier, cheaper, and safer for him than for me since we both didn’t want kids) but I told him in no uncertain terms early on that, if it should fail and a pregnancy would result, I would be terminating it. I have no desire to be pregnant or have kids. He’s against abortion but agreed with my decision. Thankfully we never had to test it. But if we did, I would tell him, because we’re a partnership and I trust him even though there would be zero chance he could change my mind.
Sure, unless one of them has a job that requires traveling and thus they’re in separate cities when Penelope finds out.
If they’re happily married, then they should have already discussed this issue before it became relevant, and come to some sort of an agreement about it. If they’re unable to come to an agreement, then they oughtn’t have married.
That’s very single of you. 
I can think of several reasons they might not have discussed it. For instance, the OP says that whatever birth control they are using failed Penny; that could easily mean that Kevin had a vasectomy which failed. WebMD says that happens 1 out of every 100 times.
As far as I’m concerned the procedure outlined is just an extension of the birth control they’re already using. So, IMO, if she doesn’t consult him every time she takes the pill/gets her shot/gets her IUD inserted, there’s no ethical imperative that she do so now. Kevin already agreed to no kids, too late to have a say now.
I might feel differently if he wants kids and she know this, but only for politeness sake. But as things stand, nope, she doesn’t have to tell him. She could if she wanted to, of course, and it’d be more open of her if she did, but not doing so doesn’t carry any negative ethical implications for me.
BTW, this is predicated on it being a drug-type abortion. If a D&C is required, I think she is ethically bound to tell him - because it’s a medical procedure that carries risk to her, not because it’s an abortion.
I’d hope that my SO would tell me if she needed a surgical abortion, because surgery is scary, and I’d want to be there for her; I care for her, after all, and I would have a portion of responsibility for the whole situation.
But, hey, it’s her call.
That’s your opinion. Kevin, however, has a different opinion, and unless you’re prepared to say that his opinion is so worthless that it deserves no respect at all, his opinion is something to respect. (And if you think it’s that worthless, you wouldn’t be happily married to Kevin, most likely).
Penelope absolutely has a right to have that abortion regardless of what Kevin thinks. HOWEVER: Kevin also has a right to change his behavior so that he doesn’t risk being involved even indirectly in future abortions (as he was in this one, having contributed to the pregnancy). Kevin might decide to get a vasectomy, to stop having sex with his wife, or to separate from his wife, depending on his feelings about the abortion, and that decision is absolutely his right to make.
Penelope ethically needs to provide him with the information he needs to make an informed decision. To do otherwise is to continue the marriage under false pretenses, under what is essentially a lie of omission.
Yes, ethically she should talk to him about it, because a) it is something he is likely to have an opinion about, and being married implies a commitment to communicating these kinds of things (I mean, if it’s like a green card marriage or something, then of course my answer is different) and b) there is a nonzero probability it will affect his life regardless of whether he knows (e.g., if something goes wrong, or if she has severe hormonal fluctuations afterwards for a while).
I have no idea what this has to do with being an abortion rights supporter, though – why is that in the title? Just so that you don’t have to deal with people who say she ought to tell because abortion is murder, or something?
I aimed the question at abortion-rights supporters because theirs were the opinions I sought, and because I didn’t want the thread to be about whether abortion should be legal or is moral.
An anti-abortion person, BY DEFINITION, does not believe that a woman should have an abortion in the first place, and thus seems likely (to me) to judge the matter in that light rather than in terms of what is ethical from a pro-choice perspective.
If I were to start a poll titled “Should kidnapping be punishable by the death penalty,” I’d likely add a qualification that the question was aimed solely at persons who support capital punishment, as anti-CP people obviously think the answer is “no.”
I see. That makes perfect sense 
I’m going to say no, even though I think most happily married women probably WILL talk to their husbands before getting an abortion. I guess I’m just hesitant to say they should. They should do whatever they feel most comfortable doing depending on the circumstances of their relationship.
The difference is not who has which opinion on abortion, but that having a child imposes a continuing obligation on both of them. In the original case it is possible that he would never know - not in this one. Sue: Baby? What baby?
As for the question, my answer is that she should tell him and listen to him based on my definition of happy marriage. As for what she does, her body, her decision.
The situation isn’t parallel, in that if Sue goes with her own general preference and decides to have the baby, it’s not like she can exactly keep it a secret from Harry forever.
Even factoring that out, my opinion stays the same: I would discuss it with my husband both because I’d want to and because I should.
I agree with others who have stated that not discussing it with the husband is the sign of a damaged marriage.
I’m not so certain we could describe a couple with such a fundamental difference of opinion happily married, more like fine until actually challenged with a dilemna. I would probably counsel Penelope that she should have the abortion and tell Kevin it was a miscarriage. Unless he’s militantly anti-abortion and investigates the matter this is one of those little lies they both can live with.
Well his ethics won’t be broken if he didn’t know about it, so maybe I wouldn’t. I considered it last time I was pregnant and I wouldn’t have discussed it with my SO. Whether what I’d have done is RIGHT or not doesn’t matter. I would have kept it from him for many reasons, some more selfish than others. It would have done more harm than good to tell him; I’ll just leave it at that.