Is it ethical to have children?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Is it ethical to have children?
Position‹3 of 4›: It is ethical to have children under certain conditions

The ethics of childbearing depends on whether parents can provide for their children well and whether parental motives are selfish or not. If parents do not have enough resources to raise a child, then childbearing becomes unethical. Similarly, if the purpose of having a child is only to make the parents’ lives better, childbearing is not ethical.

Supporting arguments · 2

Childbearing is ethical only if parents can provide for their children well
If a family has more children than they can properly care for and pay attention to each individual, then childbearing becomes unethical. That is usually the case for poor people. If a parent neglects or mistreats their child, then for them, having children would also be unethical.
Childbearing is ethical if parental motives are not selfish
As long as parents do not have a child for their own sake, childbearing is ethical. However, if the reproductive decision to have a child is selfish (such as for money and personal happiness), then childbearing becomes unethical.