Do you believe that having children is a privilege and not a human right?

Question

I was listening to some older (well dressed) ladies during my lunch break and they were discussing how the poor should not be allowed to have children since the majority of them can not afford to provide for them. They were saying that the poor are basically a burden and they were tired of being taxed in order to provide the poor with a free education in public school and a free college education. They said the poor (in general) do badly in school because they do not appreciate what they have gotten for free and not earned. That's why public schools are so shameful. They said the poor were a bad investment since the cost and effort it takes to educate the mass is far higher than the return, of a few exceptional students. The two older ladies said that they should not have to support state and community colleges since they thought the people who are educated there are no better than 'trained monkeys'. What are your thoughts?

I thought they were much more than just arrogant..

Answer 1

It is both a privilege AND a right because having children is natural to all. Each life is precious and for those ladies to say such things obviously betrays in them a lack of education themselves. To deprive the poor of education and non-fiscal tax returns is to put us right back to monarchic times before the French Revolution. Or maybe they'd like that. But then again-they wouldn't be sitting there, they'd be servant women for absentee British Landlords (seen as your speaking English) who weren't questioned because the poor have a SERIOUSLY huge positive contribution to make.
Poor arrogant moos.
Next time, tell them that for every rich kid that recieves a meal in a private school 10 poor kids starve in other countries.
Live simply so that others can simply live!-Gandhi
Bitches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, but i feel such indignance for people like that!

Answer 2

Having children is a blessing. Unfortunately, there are many parents that shouldn't have children and this has nothing to do with finances but rather their moral value system. Almost any woman can give birth but it doesn't make her a Mother. It simply means she has a child.

Unfortunately, some children lack many of the daily essentials required to establish a healthy upbringing, be it their home situation, educational values and most of all..they lack parents that actually give a damn about their children and the futures of their children. I have a great deal of empathy for some of todays children who do live under poorer qualities than others as they are often disregarded and left to fend for themselves because no one else cares.

And these old ladies that you speak of...well, they came from a different era and in their time many knew enough to close their legs or use birth control and that surely isn't the way it is today. I imagine they were referring to the children who run rampant through their neighborhoods and others barely dressed and even if clothed, chances are they are filthy in appearance as well as unsupervised. They are the misfortunate children which have no one to fend for them, no one to teach them the difference from right or wrong...and yet, these are innocent children who will grow without dreams of a better future if left to their parents.

It is wrong for any of us to judge these poor children and yet...even myself, I will stand and judge the irresponsible adults who have let society provide for them. You only get out of life what you put into it so unless society wants to take the time to pick up the pieces these children will always be unfortunate. Just be thankful these old ladies didn't speak of sterilizing the poor!

Answer 3

The question is not whether the poor should be allowed to have children. The question should be whether idiotic, careless adults should have them.

Being rich does not give one some inherently improved ability to be a parent, just because they can completely divorce themselves from their children by sending them to private schools and hiring nannys (what the hell kind of parenting is that?).

The size of a person's income has *nothing* to do with their ability to parent and raise morally sound, talented children. Obviously the women (certainly *not* ladies!) you overheard are:

a) stupidly inconsiderate - this sort of conversation should not be had in an public forum

b) completely ignorant of the background of thousands of critical people who grew up in poverty and changed the world. (e.g., the man who developed the first method for storing blood was from a poor black family in the 30s, and who consequently died from a car crash because rich white folk wouldn't admit him to their hospital).

c) completely ignorant of the number of poeple who are stunningly rich, who started off stunningly poor. One of the monster-sized cosmetic companies, which these women probably use, was started by a housewife (like Eilz. Arden, I don't recall the company).

L. Kirwan said once, in song lyrics, "The rich are only rich because we're down on our knees". And how did they get there? by the blood and sweat of the "trained monkeys" they ridicule. Without the poor, there would be no rich.

My parents were well-off, before their divorce left my mother and us kids very poor. We were on food stamps for a while. I graduated from college (due to a large amount of public supported grants), got a great paying job, and have certainly repaid any support money I got in college by having a great paying job as a responsible tax payer.

They're rich? They probably pay a much small % of their income to taxes than the poor fellow down the road who doesn't have off-shore accounts and expensive accountants, who doesn't own her own home and therefore cannot write off her mortgage payments. Who doesn't earn enough money to invest in a 401k, and who will therefore wind up being a real burden on society when they retire and still can't afford to live.

These women do not understand economics.

What self-righteous, opinionated, self-centered, inconsiderate assholes.


p.s.
Stating that one was poor in the past is not an invitation to a pity party. It is a simple fact of life, no different than saying "I'm from Michigan"

Answer 4

I believe having children is a right, in that no authority should try to tell people they can't have children.

The poor would be a lot less of a "burden" if we made sure everyone had access to quality education and job opportunities. Most of them would contribute to the economy instead of depending on public assistance. Honestly, do those ladies think people like being on welfare?

Answer 5

I agree with you that what those women said was so wrong. It is a human right. If weren't meant to have children then God would not have given that HUMAN RIGHT. It is also a privilege to get the honor of having children. Poor people have just as much rights as anyone in having children they just can not spoil them with gifts and expensive toys. I say as long as the child is fed and clothed and getting all of his/her needs met then they parent is doing their job. So what if they get government help. The point is they loved their child enough to go get it in the first place.

Answer 6

They are both.

As for these ladies, well they're ignorant. The rich *force* the poor out to school as the rich need them educated so as they can function better in a highly skilled workplace and ultimately make the rich richer. These ladies have a cheek. No doubt they'd send us all to work camps and force us to pay for the journey.

Answer 7

Seriously, what is the point in having children today? It isn't labor-- I'll tell you what it is... parental slavery, the desire for caged "pets" for affection. And if you're poor enough and having children to work for you, that's pretty mean too. Parents are fcking insane on all levels. I don't trust any.


But I also don't think we should opt to have a society of idiocy, by not funding public educaton, like the one we have today in the US.
That just causes more problems. Ignorance and poverty ARE violence.

Answer 8

It is very easy to be judgmental when you have money. They have no problems with either, evidently. I think that having children is neither a right or a privilege...it is a great responsibility, period. Kids drain you of energy, time, and money for about 18-22 years. That is a very big commitment that many are not so willing to make, do not think of it before hand, and end up in over their heads...the kids suffer, they don't.

Answer 9

Having children is a privilege, But raising them right is a human right, and way to many people whether they are rich or poor refuse to raise them correctly. The best example of that is Paris Hilton, all rich and no brains.

Answer 10

From my point of view, having children is a human right, you cannot forbid people to have children because they are less fortunate and not wealthy. I am from a third world country, and I can see a lot of examples of poor families that raise their children very well, their kids have good manners,when they grow up they are productive and very hard worker. better then a lot of rich families.
this is my humble opinion

Answer 11

It is a human right. If it was left to the wealthy, think of the ill-mannered, boorish, boring, spoiled only-chidren on the planet, which they would promptly destroy because THEY are clueless and the burden on society. Good thing I wasn't there, they'd have heard a few words Ihaven't used recently.