Q&A: Marriage Conditional on Childbearing
Marriage Conditional on Childbearing
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permissible for a man to marry a woman who is not willing to give birth or have children through surrogacy? Thank you.
Answer
I’m not sure I understood the logical structure of the question:
A. The woman is not willing to have children and is also not willing to use surrogacy.
B. The woman is not willing to have children herself, and therefore the question is whether it is permissible to marry and have children via surrogacy.
From the wording it seems that A is what you mean. If so, then it would seem to be forbidden. There is a neglect of the positive commandment of procreation. If it is B, then strictly speaking, by the letter of the law it is permitted, although not desirable (because marriage is the instrument or the means that permits procreation).