John Ward was compared to a Nazi after he wrote on his blog that people living on benefits should not be allowed to continue having children for the good of the society.
Whether or not you agree with his statement, it raises an important moral dilemma that we, as a ‘free’ society refuse and face. However, not facing a question doesn’t make the dilemma go away. So let’s ask the question bluntly: “should anyone have right to have children?”
Let’s try and think about the question itself, rather than finding the easy way out by referring to China’s one child policy or Nazi Germany. After all we don’t shun breakfasts because Nazis used to have them.
Like it or not, we do not live in a free society in the sense that we can’t do what we want. We can’t drive without a driving license; we can’t drink before we are drinking age, and we can’t teach without a teaching qualification. All these laws, justified or not, limit individual freedom to protect the society as a whole, or at least some elements of it. So can we consider a situation in which we prevent people from having children?
You may not agree of doing it for social, financial, intelligence reasons, but what about extreme situations, like the mother that has killed three of her children in violence attacks, should she be allowed to have more children?
Raising children is a huge responsibility for society and for the children themselves. To claim that we are allowed to have children just because we know how to have sex is preposterous.
I am not sure there is an answer, but the question is definitely legitimate, and should be discussed rather than using names to silence it. After all it’s children that we are sacrificing.
