Is it ethical for a person with a serious medical condition to have a child?

Question

knowing he/she may not live to see the child grow up?

Answer 1

I think they have as much right as any to have children.  However if I were in this position I would want to have good insurance to leave them some money for college and other essentials they will need.  Just because you have something wrong with you does not mean you should not be able to have kids.  We will all die one day and we don't know if we will see our kids grow up or not.  We could die in car accidents etc.

Answer 2

My ethical dilemma is whether or not its right to pass on such medical conditions to children, both on an ethical and an evolutionary basis. Are we becoming lax in our evolutionary imperatives by breeding at will, propagating disease and genetic conditions.

Answer 3

It is the inevitable need to reproduce. I think that if I was going to die but knew I could bare just one child without harming it, then I would most def. do it!! With the one other exception that he/she would have someone to watch over them of course.

Answer 4

Why would the woman get pregnant if she couldn't see the child grow up? What's the point? I would rather adopt than die and have my child grow up with a dead mom, or I just wouldn't have kids.

EDIT: Seriously, why give me a thumbs down? Alright folks, go get pregnant and have your kid go through life not knowing his/her own mom.

Answer 5

It all depends on the medical condition. If it was something that was hereditary that would cut the life short of a child like for example leukemia. Something that would be minor like female reproduction problems or mental disorders like ADD and ADHD would be different. There should be no reason to consider not having a child in that situation. I have 2 ADHD children and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Answer 6

very selfish act for a Mother to birth a child that she is not able to care for and someone else will end up with the child.  

Mental torment for the child to know it will not have a Mother very long, and have to have someone fill the Mother's shoes eventually.

The medical condition might be passed on to the child, causing mental torment to the child to know what might happen, and Mom is gone now.

Answer 7

There is nothing unethical about creating life, assuming the medical condition is not hereditary.  

Answer 8

Unless you are capable of giving the problem to the child through the gene pool it's okay.

But to lose a parent is devastating.

Well, either the way the kid will be miserable of one of the two.

Answer 9

yes and no.