I guess I don't know why he would have to "sign off".
Maybe I'm not making my position clear. He doesn't sound like a strong man to me, because if he was, he probably wouldn't be with such a cold, butchy, leftist female to begin with. He is probably a liberal himself. He probably believes in a "woman's right to choose".
I'm not calling him a hero or a saint.
But at least he was willing to try, and of all the characters in this story, he is the one I can be at least somewhat sympathetic to - because the guy had to stand there, wanting those children, knowing that two heartbeats were going to "disappear" and there was not a thing he could do about it.
But he had been willing to be a father. (A lot of guys in situation just wouldn't be.)
And thinking about that is painful for me. I wouldn't assume it isn't still painful for him.
Who knows. Maybe he'll turn into a pro-lifer as a result of this experience. Not much of a consolation, but...
People, it's the New York Times! Do you think they would run a story about something this personal without permission from all parties? Yikes!