Letters to the Editor
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Um... Biological Imperative?
Conversations about reproduction that focus mainly on lifestyle or natural resources - i.e. childbirth as a microeconomic equation - baffle me.
The defining characteristic of life is that it reproduces. Reproduction propagates your genes. Propagation of your genes is a primary goal of life.
That is NOT by itself a justification for reproduction.
However, it also seems strange to not mention this simple imperative as a factor in the "decision" to have children.
The simple fact is that we are all programmed to reproduce. Not that we all should or will reproduce. But to reduce reproduction to issues of lifestyle or environmental impact seems to miss a major part of the decision that is more intangible and metaphysical.