"All other things equal, having and raising children is a service to society."

[Beet]

Currently, "Having children is a human right that should not be denied by society?" is at 71% agree, 29% disagree. I think this one will be more controversial. I propose that having and raising children is a service to society. First, let me add that I myself an childless and plan to remain so for the rest of my life, so this is not a 'my lifestyle is better than yours' question for me. Secondly, I am obviously referring to a reasonable number of children (1-3), not Octomom.

My reasons are basically that, if no one had any children, society would collapse. Most obviously, social security would not be there for the retired; the last generation would not be able to retire at all and would see rapidly eroding quality of life in the last years of their lives. The nation would no longer be able to defend itself, and we would quickly be extinguished; perhaps annexed by Canada or Mexico. The Constitution would cease to have power. The flag can be folded up, and the United States can be thrown in the dust bin of history.

So if one sees that scenario as a negative, then someone needs to have children. And having, and raising children, is hard work and very expensive. My friends who have had kids no longer have time for anything else. Most of them lose their freedom to travel or go on vacation. The bags under their eyes grow larger, their physical body is not as fit as before, and gray hair appears at a more rapid rate than before. These are just some of the changes I've noticed among my friends who have had kids. The financial burden is also huge.

So therefore, since this is something that benefits society but has huge costs to the individual, I would say it's a service to society.

[Beet]

This is less controversial than I thought it would be? I'm pleasantly surprised..