Should people have children?

The McKelvy Scholars will host a discussion led by Lulu Kirtchuk ’21 on Sunday at 6 p.m. Email the group for the Zoom link. Background for the talk:

This week we will discuss the ethics around being born. Specifically, we will talk about the modern challenges younger generations will face and the growing number of children in the foster care system. We will tackle topics of overpopulation, adoption rates, anti-natalism, and cultural differences. As a central focus for the discussion, we will debate whether it is unethical to have children within today’s context.

In a world that is crumbling, are we signing ourselves up to see our children suffer and therefore ourselves? Is it selfish of us to have children when we know they will inevitably suffer or are we being selfless by giving life? Life isn’t all bad—there’s sex and ice cream here.

Please read the following articles to get acquainted with the different perspectives leading up to the discussion. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/eco.2018.0068
https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/adoption-blog/adoption-cost-length-time (2018)
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-case-for-not-being-born
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/09/the-case-against-kids