Q&A: The Moral Problematic of Having Children
The Moral Problematic of Having Children
Question
With God’s help,
Hello Rabbi, I wanted to ask what your thoughts are on bringing children into the world.
After all, it is a given that a person who is born will experience suffering, whereas for a person who is not born it is hard to say that any pleasure is being withheld from him—after all, he is not alive.
Therefore, logically speaking, it is preferable for a person not to be born, and being born is in fact more of a harm than a “gift.”
Especially considering the enormous potential harm that can be caused to a person, given the severe physical and mental illnesses that exist in our world.
And this is also the conclusion reached by Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, who added nevertheless that it is preferable for him to come to terms with the situation and accept it.
So I wanted to ask: how can bringing children into the world be morally justified—if at all?
Answer
See a related discussion in my article here:
In general, there is the commandment of “be fruitful and multiply,” and therefore even if you are pessimistic and think that it is not good to be born (and I am not sure that this is really what emerges from Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, and even if so—I am not sure that this is true for all times and places, and I am not sure I agree), the Torah commands this of us and spares us the dilemma.
You can fulfill the commandment of “be fruitful and multiply” while using birth control pills, no?
Sorry for bringing up an old question; I just thought it would be unnecessary to open a new thread if there is already one.