Archive for August, 2008

A question about duties to prospective children

Monday, August 4th, 2008

Consider two sets of parents who are considering whether to have a child:

A and B know that if they create their child he will (through no fault of his own) have a very bad life. If they don’t choose to create him, he will never exist.

C and D know that if they create their child he will have a very bad life and he will be morally responsible for the fact that he has a bad life. If they don’t choose to create him, he will never exist.

If we say that A and B have a duty to their prospective child to not create him should we say the same thing about C and D? Are there any moral reasons that A and B have for not reproducing that do not also apply to C and D?