Should some lives never begin?

Idk if it's my low blood sugar but I feel you're asking two different questions? If I'm understanding correctly, I would not want to bring a child in the world if I feel I wouldn't bring them into a healthy environment and I was ready to try to prevent them from going through a "rough life." Realistically though, many of our kids are not going to have perfect lives so doing your best is key

Whether a potential / hypothetical life should be exposed to such issues vs a human being who is already alive and has experienced them are two very different things.

@Melanie I guess the focus here is less on the parent and more on the child. Of course, parents have the right to make whatever decision feels right for them but the deeper question is: if a life comes from an unhealthy environment, is it still worthy and deserving of existence? If that makes sense. People (myself included) often say that certain individuals shouldn’t have children. Yet many of those people DO have children, and despite experiencing neglect or hardship, some of those kids grow up grateful to be alive. So then, should we stop discouraging people from having children because life, in any form, is still precious or not? That’s the question, I guess.

@Aggs I completely agree, which is why, I added can we really - based on existing or past experiences - ever say which lives shouldn’t exist? I think I’ve awkwardly phrased it

By this logic every hypothetical might be child deserves the chance at life. I hope you're ready to harvest all of your hundreds of thousands of eggs and have them inseminated, or go straight-up handmaid's tale with forced procreation.

@Melissa it’s a question - can we categorically determine which lives should/shouldn’t exist? Therefore encourage/discourage people from becoming parents. There’s no particular “logic”, I’m not advocating for either or - I provided context to elaborate on the question. I hope that’s clear.

@Shukri aah I see what you mean, that's an interesting thought. I think I stand by my thought which is the same as yours; some people are not deserving to have kids but maybe the type and amount lessens a bit after that thought. Because realistically, children can come from great parents but still be horrible people. However I will say it seems the type of people that end up being "bad people" comes from terrible families

@Shukri no, I get it. I'm just saying it sets a precedent to imply that babies who are not born yet, but MIGHT be born one day, are equivalent to actual human beings that exist.

@Shukri I think you’ve majorly oversimplified here and detracted from the very real trauma and lasting impacts that neglect and abuse can have on an individual. Yes some survivors are incredibly resilient (which no child should need to be), but they still encounter psychological, emotional, and physical consequences, with their healing journeys often being long and painful. Your argument also places an unfair burden on the pregnant person to predict the future outcome of a child born into an abusive or neglectful environment. No one can say with certainty how a person's life will unfold and we shouldn’t make decisions regarding human life on speculation about hypothetical future happiness or resilience. What we can do, is make a decision on what level of risk we want to expose any potential life to. That’s completely different from saying the fetus doesn’t deserve life.

@Aggs, I haven’t done anything of the sort, I simply asked a question, nothing more. I haven’t shared my personal perspective on this topic. Admittedly, my phrasing may have been awkward, but I certainly wasn’t making an argument. Could you clarify what I supposedly said about pregnant people, or how they’ve been implicated? Let me rephrase the question to avoid any confusion: As a society, we’re often to quick to tell people not to have children, which can imply that certain lives aren’t worth living. Do you agree or disagree? Of course, a single question can’t capture all the nuance involved in a topic like this (I don’t think it’s ever supposed to). I’m not making any commentary on trauma - just asking: when it comes to trauma, is there a level of trauma that can be considered in compatible with life? - That’s another way of looking at the question.

@Melissa I don’t think you do get it, it’s a question. If, as you’ve suggested, questions set a precedence, then do you think certain questions shouldn’t be asked because the possible answer/s may lead to an uncomfortable conclusion?

@Shukri you're not just talking about a question, though. Just a question would be "do children who grow up in an abusive home still deserve life?" But, you have framed it in a context of whether or not pregnant women should be allowed to get abortions. That's where the precedent is relevant. If you just left it at "what if?" that would be fine, but in context you are actually asking if parents who get abortions simply because they don't want children should still be allowed to do so. That has legal implications because it informs laws and restrictions around abortion and, when you start talking about hypothetical children, you have to consider ALL hypothetical possible children, not just one.