"Think Before You Breed."

In an entirely unrelated note, Patticakes & Pies reminds us that a canning permit and state certification is required to vend Calico Pickles at the farmers market.

Think Before You Breed, by Christine Overall (NYT Opinionator blog)

(The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers on issues both timely and timeless.)

As a young woman in my 20s I pondered whether or not to have children. Is there a way, I wondered, to decide thoughtfully rather than carelessly about this most momentous of human choices? ...

... In fact, people are still expected to provide reasons not to have children, but no reasons are required to have them. It’s assumed that if individuals do not have children it is because they are infertile, too selfish or have just not yet gotten around to it. In any case, they owe their interlocutor an explanation. On the other hand, no one says to the proud parents of a newborn, Why did you choose to have that child? What are your reasons? The choice to procreate is not regarded as needing any thought or justification ...

... Choosing whether or not to have children is therefore the most significant ethical debate of most people’s lives.