Should there be a "Parent Qualification Test" for men and women before they can conceive a child?

Question

you have to pass tests to go to college, you have to qualify to rent or buy a home, you have to qualify finances for loans, you have to qualify for a job, you have to QUALIFY for all adult life stuff. so shouldn't their be a "qualification test" before people are allowed to bring a child to the world and be a parent (which is the most important adult job of all)???

it would work like this:

if a woman gets pregnant and wants to have the child with that man, both persons must show their "PQT" score before the pregnancy can continue.

Answer 1

Yes! That would sort out lots of problems :-)

Answer 2

We'd wonder where all the babies went.

Seriously, nice as that would be, the governement would have a hard time imposing rules on people for doing what their bodies do naturally. It's similar to China trying to only allow 2 babies per couple; they have a messy human rights issue on their hands.

Answer 3

That would certainly make life easier for everyone, but I doubt that such a thing would happen in a libertarian country.

Answer 4

While I understand where you are coming from I have to say  that there isn't a test ANYONE could create that would truly show if a person was qualified to be a parent. Parenting is so much more than basic responsibilities like feeding, cleaning, clothing and housing a child. Parenting is a learned skill that most people cultivate given enough time. You don't go into a pregnancy and child-rearing knowing anything and everything there is to know. You go into it with basic information and the rest you get through sheer luck, a little help from family and friends, and a little feeling around and trying knew things.

It's a good idea in theory but I don't see it working out for NUMEROUS reasons.

Answer 5

If we have mandatory contraception for those who do not pass I would be all for it today.  And I'm a social liberal.  

After this morning and the "pregnancy pact" I think we should make contraception mandatory for all teenagers.

Chastity belt no- that wouldn't work.   Locksmiths would get rich.

Answer 6

Yes, but what would the consequence be if they did not take it and have the baby any ways. How would it be enforced with out gestapo type tactics?  But I agree that too many people are having kids when they should not be.

Answer 7

So if a couple gets pregnant, but one of the parents fails the test by one point, their baby will be snatched away from them as soon as it's born? That seems kind of cruel.

Answer 8

Very good point.

what kind of questions/tasks would u put in test?

just curious

ProfessorC...how about a chasity belt law?

Answer 9

I don't believe in abortion, so they have to put it up for adoption.  But they have 9 months or however long is left in their pregnancy to go to counselling to see if they can bring up their score.

Answer 10

Yes

Answer 11

I would love it but it would be too hard to implement.  After all you need a license to drive a car, carry a gun, or even go hunting.  Children are so fragile and any idiot can have one.  We wonder why people are messed up just look at who raised them and how.  Then do the opposite.

Answer 12

Agree in theory...in reality i don't see this working.

cant even bring back the testing to vote...

Answer 13

No..you have it all backwards....

put birth control in the water supply and require that people pass a PQT in order to opt out of it.

Or how about something realistic that actually works.... thorough education about preventing pregnancy (I'm not talking about abstinence programs...)

AND real life experience with infants from their icky diapers to sleepless nights of rocking a colicky screamer.

Answer 14

I've worked with children all my life and I've always thought that parents should meet some qualifications, certainly the ability to be able to support a child before bringing one into the world.  BUT, parental tests are eugenic.  Whenever we start talking about who is "fit" to reproduce and who isn't "fit" to reproduce, we are tumbling down a slippery bioethical slope, a slope that some humans just LOVE to travel down in a monkey madness of wanting to impose their pet visions onto all others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_eugeni...