This question looks very deep, and it took me some time to conclude what I would write, but the deep truth is whenever someone around tells me they are pregnant again after giving birth to, like, two or three kids, I always feel a shift inside of me. I always smile and wish them well through my congratulations, beautiful. I always feel completely happy for such people, but then, there is this small inner voice that usually comes to my mind and asks, "What is the situation around, and what type of family is this child coming to meet?" When I was younger, I don't think this type of question came to mind.
I now understood the feeling and how some people are always against bringing children into the world today because it's unfair to them. Unfair in the sense that we always hear all sorts of crazy war breakouts in the news, natural disasters happening all over, kidnapping here and there, child molestation and trafficking, with the daily increment in the cost of food; heat that is constantly becoming more than ever before; floods; and cruelty that is going on all over. Even in my country, some parents take to the streets to use their kids to beg for money before they feed. A lot of school graduates have no decent job. A lot are even barely surviving instead of living. So considering all these things, making a choice not to bring a child to this world feels like fear and a pile of responsibility.
And again, I had to consider and struggle with the other argument. If a lot of good people and thoughtful ones just decide to stop bringing children to this world just because of all those bad things I have mentioned, who then will be in the next generation? I agree that those who enjoy having children with no plans and backup will continue to do so. And then again, I consider this topic again. Maybe the big issue we should be facing here is whether people should have children, but only if they will all be considerate and have good plans to raise decent humans even though the world today is filled with all sorts of madness.
Long before bringing a child to this world, I feel ethics should be put in place. There should be a detailed argument on why those who want to give birth want the children. Are they capable of raising just one or two? Is it because people around want them to give birth or their parents want a grandchild? Because a lot of people have been pushed into doing different things they are not even capable of doing and some don't want to be lonely. But if they are fully prepared, they should.
And if we decide to look at it from this perspective, ever since the creation of man, the world has not been completely safe. There is always a darkness in every generation looking at those stories we read from history. What the difference is is just that we are alive to witness this one, and it's bringing hopelessness to us. However, I will not say people should not give birth because it's unethical, nor can I say everyone should. But if it's left to me, I will focus on if we are creating homes where a child can learn kindness without pretending the world is kind.
Thank you for reading.
Images created by Gemini AI
